Jealousy is so Troublesome
by Heosic-chan
Summary: Chouji has a crush on his best friend Shikamaru, and the lazy nin starts to sort through certain feelings for his best friend... Meanwhile a certain Kazekage goes to visit his crush, while Shikamaru finds out he has some rivlas in the love department...
1. Chapter 1

Alrighty! This is a story co-authored by me, Heosic-chan and the lovely Kanemoshi! -thunderous applause- pairings so far are: ShikaCho, GaaNaru, future NejiKan, and others! All lemons and citrusy stuff is written by the talented Kanemoshi, and I write mostly Choji and Naruto. Hope u all enjoy!

Tina-chan: man, we sure made this long... and it's just the first chapter!

Disclaimer: neither me nor Kanemoshi own Naruto. T.T

Warnings: Lemon and other citrusy stuff.

* * *

(Choji's POV) 

I looked over at my good friend Shikamaru, who was apparently asleep. His face looked peaceful and his breathing was slow and even. I smiled and stuffed a handful of chips into my mouth. Shika is a good guy, and a genius. His IQ is over 200, and he was the only person to become a chuunin in the last exam. He was also the leader of the 'rescue Sasuke' team. I still get a strange feeling of both pride and fear when I think back on that event. I almost died, but I also found out how much faith my friends have in me, especially Shikamaru. He had always been my best friend, but after that mission I began to think of him as… something more. He may pretend to be a lazy slacker, but he showed me that I could be strong and not weak like everyone said I was. I looked over at him again and noticed that he didn't look so peaceful anymore. His face was screwed up in… pain? No, not quite… Oh gods, now he's moaning!

"Shikamaru, are you okay? Wake up! You're moaning!"

* * *

(Shikamaru POV)

I blinked my eyes open and found myself staring into the worried face of my best friend. _Shika, are you okay? _That was what had woken me up from that..._dream_. I wasn't even sure if it could be called that. I pulled myself up to a sitting position and stared at Choji, who was still looking at me curiously. _I was...moaning in my sleep?_ I glanced over to Choji for confirmation and, from the surprised look in his eyes, I knew that his comment about my moaning must have been true. I mentally cursed, wondering if I spoke in my sleep as well. I didn't actually recall what went on in my dream except there was..._heat_ A great deal of heat. And Choji was there. I shook the thoughts from my head, promising myself I'd think about it at a later time. This wasn't the time or place (or company) to contemplate such disconcerting things. I stood up, noticing Choji followed suit, and I began walking back towards the village. I couldn't watch clouds with something like this on my mind.

After a little while of walking, Choji excused himself, saying he had to do something for his mother today. I watched him leave, personally glad that he had finally left me alone. It meant that I could think over my dream again. I quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching me-I couldn't have people wondering what had gotten me into such an unusual mood. Satisfied that I wouldn't have to answer someone's questions later, I sprinted the rest of the way to my house, glad that both of my parents were working today. For something like this, I needed to be completely alone.

Once I reached the house, I was sure to lock my bedroom door after I entered the small room. Even if my parents were already busy, that didn't mean that someone (probably Ino or Asuma-sensei) wouldn't come barging in looking for me with some ridiculous excuse. Asuma's latest justification for trespassing was that he hardly saw me anymore and was worried about his chuunin student. It was so troublesome to have that man as a teacher. With a sigh, I laid back on my bed and pulled up all the images I could remember from the dream. _Choji…was…he was touching me..._ I closed my eyes, letting my fingers trace the lines my best friend had in my dream. He touched my face, my jaw line, and down my neck. I remembered that he then had slid my shirt up with his other hand, and began feeling every inch of my torso and chest.

More than anything, I recalled how _good _it felt in my dream-the feeling of his hands on my bare skin, the warmth that his fingers brought as they simply _touched_ me. I let my own hands repeat those movements, wondering why my dream had brought on such sensations. I ran one hand through my hair, pulling out my ponytail as I thought over what happened. Dreams weren't reality, so I had no reason to worry, _right_? But the feelings that ran through my body in that dream...they felt real - _tangible_. My eyes shot open when I remembered what Choji had done next after touching my chest and abdomen. His hands had dipped into my pants and I had _gladly_ moved to give him access to my lower body. My body trembled slightly at that realization. It was illogical that I would feel such..._things_...when my best friend touched me like that, tracing every inch of the most private part of my body. It wasn't normal to do things like that with your best friend, but I had been more than eager to do it with Choji. It was as though he placed me under a spell. I bit my lip, that same warmth returning to my body as I recalled the exact places Choji had touched me. It wasn't real-it was just a harmless fantasy brought on by hormones and lack of sleep, I theorized as I shifted uncomfortably on my bed. My stomach tightened as I shifted again, suddenly feeling..._different_.

I opened my eyes and looked down and my eyes became fixed on the most...prominent area of my body. _That...isn't a dream..._ I realized as I continued to stare at the massive erection, wondering where the **hell** that came from. I threw my head back, thinking out all the logical answers to my questions. I was horny, it was normal to get erections when you're a teenager; I had been stressed out lately... I covered my eyes with one hand, wondering what I should do now. If I touched myself, I would be admitting _something_ to myself...but what? The curious side of me won in the long run and I allowed my hand to stretch down to my baggy pants, slipping underneath the layers of cloth to touch the throbbing piece of flesh. My body erupted in shivers from the gentlest of touches, but it felt amazingly _good_. I wondered slightly if it was normal to be this stimulated by such simple, carnal urges. I became more daring, retracing the paths Choji had taken in my dream. Sliding up to the tip, down the vein underneath, becoming faster as my grip tightened, and I found myself unable to stop. It wasn't supposed to be so addictive-so _amazing_. I just wanted to know _why. _I was a genius and that "why" question had yet to be answered, so it bothered me and I knew it would keep nagging in the back of my mind until I satisfied my curiosity. That is why I continued-for the sake of science…for curiosity's sake. I let a slight smile touch my face, realizing that I was trying deluding myself with that line of thinking. I was doing this so that I wouldn't go insane with the unanswered questions I had.

I found my breathing becoming hitched as I continued touching, grasping, pumping my hand along my erection. It was almost too much, but I didn't stop, wondering where something like this would end, since Choji had woken me up about two gasps and a moan ago. I bit my lip, realizing that if anyone came into the house right now, they'd probably think someone was murdering me from the sounds I was making. Even after realizing that, I couldn't make my vocalizations any quieter-I was just barely able to refrain from screaming from the sheer amount of incomprehensible gratification I was receiving from the movements of my own hand.

I bit back a groan as I felt something change. It was no longer a feeling of curiosity that drove me, but a necessity. I couldn't have stopped even if I had wanted to. It was almost too much for me to handle. With each movement of my hand, the waves of pleasure increased, now becoming painful in the amount of pleasure I got. That amount of ecstasy grew until I was almost unable to breath. My entire lower body erupted in heat that I hadn't thought was even possible. With a deafening scream, I threw my head back and came all over my own hand. I froze in that spot for a moment, until it was over and I had started to breathe with some semblance of normalcy. My heartbeat was still erratic, but I could breathe without gasping. It was then I realized what exactly had just happened-and what I had done.

"I screamed...Choji..." My eyes widened in fear at that realization and, with the barest of smirks on my face, I added for the sake of my image, "Mendokusee."

After a few minutes, exhaustion had overtaken me and I slept without anymore disturbing dreams of my best friend. When I finally woke up, I knew it was late at night from the lack of light in my room. I glanced over at the digital clock on my nightstand and sighed when I read off the digits.

"Eight thirty…" It had only been the early afternoon when I had gotten home and…done those _things_ to myself. I felt my face warm up as I recalled the events leading up to that particular action. I had been cloud gazing in one of my favorite spots and Choji had happened to come along. He knew me well enough not to ask any questions, so we just laid back together on the roof and watched the white puffs go by. It wasn't an awkward silence, like most people would believe. I was content with just knowing my food-loving best friend was around in case I had any thoughts that I needed his input on.

After a little while, I felt myself drifting off into a comfortable sleep, like I was prone to do on lazy days like today. It was then that my day started taking a turn for the worst. My dream had started off very much like a _normal_ afternoon of cloud watching, with Choji laying next to me. Every now and again, he would comment on a certain shape-something Choji had always done and I found it somewhat soothing to hear his voice softly mention what he saw in the abstract contours. It was after a while of cloud gazing that I felt _something_ change in the atmosphere. In my dream, I had opened my eyes to look at Choji curiously and had been surprised to see him looking at, not the clouds, but _me_. Then things became confusing. I had no say in what I did next- it was as though I was just a spectator inside my own body. I slid over to Choji and hesitantly sat up, brushing my lips against his as I did so. That seemed to break whatever boundaries there were between us and everything became a blur of heat. Skin, tongue-I had been able to feel every inch of Choji's muscular body. I always knew my best friend was well built under the rolls that he had carried for so many years, but I had never seen him naked since he started shedding those extra pounds. A small part of me was curious if the body I felt on top of me in the dream was anywhere close to the real thing.

He had touched me in such ways that I could feel my face warm up even now as I thought about it I tilted my head back, remembering the exact moment I had woken up from my dream. He had been touching my erection, his own hardness pressing into my thigh as he assaulted my neck with his tongue and teeth. Gods, those small things that he did to my neck had made me scream out in my dream-begging him for more. I didn't exactly know what I wanted by _more_, but whatever it was, it was making me shiver now as I thought about how close I had been to coming in my dream. If I had done so-it would have been very awkward to wake up and see Choji eyeing me curiously. As of right now, I doubted if I would be able to _look_ at my best friend without blushing in remembrance of how I was putty in his masterful hands. I knew I would never be able to sit in that particular cloud gazing spot with my best friend again.

"Shikamaru!" I nearly fell off my bed when I heard my father call out my name. The man sounded very close, so I was hardly surprised when he came barging through my door a few seconds later. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at me, sprawled across my bed as I unconsciously tried to cover myself with blankets. There would be no way of explaining my soiled pants to him, short of the truth.

"Tou-san…" If I hadn't decided it would be too troublesome to yell at the man for entering without knocking, I probably would have cursed at him. He smirked in a way that only he could, making him look years younger. There was a glimmer of understanding in his eyes, which made me wonder slightly how much he had already assumed.

"You're finally growing up!" Shikaku exclaimed happily. I sighed, lowering my head into my pillow. Being a genius, I calculated that I wouldn't be able to suffocate myself in my pillow before the man came to my 'rescue.' Besides, it would be too bothersome to put my energy into a half-hearted suicide attempt. The man who looked like an older version of myself, wiggling his eyebrows, gave me a curious look that, for some reason, made me blush slightly. "So, who was it? Ino-chan? Or that pink-haired Haruno girl…hmm…Maybe the Hyuuga heiress…"

With each name my father rattled off, I felt my face warming up even more. He was just as perverted as the rest of the adult men I knew…and it was almost as embarrassing as the fact I had masturbated while thinking about my best _male_ friend. "…" I didn't even grace the man with an answer as I slowly sat up and stared down into my hands. "…what does it mean?" I wondered out loud, wondering if my father would have a spark of genius himself and give me a response that would make a difference.

"…well, it means that you're finally maturing. _And_ that you're attracted to someone…or something about her." I noticeably winced when I heard him use that particular word: _her_. Did that mean it was wrong for me to be thinking about a guy in that way? I knew it was wrong to imagine doing something like _that_ with my best friend-regardless of the fact Choji was a boy. My father, obviously noticing the way I reacted to his comment, walked over to my bed and sat down on the mattress. "…or him…"

His addition made me glance over at him curiously. For a moment, I wondered if it was possible he knew more than he was letting on, but from the ridiculous smirk on his face, I knew the man was just going on a hunch. He probably would have been very serious looking if he thought I was having dreams about my best friend. "Shikamaru…you're a man now…things like that are perfectly normal…I'd be kind of worried if you _didn't _have a wet dream or two…it's unhealthy not to-"

"I don't want to know…" I cut him off, knowing that he would go _far_ deeper into the conversation than I wanted to hear if I didn't stop him. The man sometimes was too much for one person to deal with. Especially me. He was just too troublesome sometimes.

"Shikamaru…having thoughts like that don't really mean anything…it could just indicate that you're attracted to a certain quality in someone…like their _friendship_…" That particular choice in words startled me so much I stared at my father, my mouth hanging open. He chuckled at me, but not in a teasing way. He stood up and started walking to the door as he continued talking. "…don't act surprised, Shikamaru…I told you already, it's a normal thing for someone your age to go through. Give it a few weeks and…" He turned his head to give me a sidelong glance. "You'll be watching clouds like normal with Choji…"

With that, he left the room and I was finally alone, now with even more questions than I had started out with.

* * *

(Choji POV) 

Shikamaru suddenly stood up and started walking, and I followed him, not really knowing what else to do. He seemed deep in thought and after a while I remembered that my mom wanted me to pick up some groceries. I said goodbye and he just waved, looking more spacey that usual. I wondered what's on his mind? He actually seemed… Perplexed? Yeah, I think that's it. To anyone else he would have looked like his usual bored self, but I've been around him long enough that I can sometimes see past his bored façade and see what he's really feeling. I started to crunch on a bag of chips; If he still acting weird later I would ask him if anything was wrong.

"OI, CHOJI!"

I winced as an incredibly loud shriek tore through the air, and I spotted a blonde head running down the street. I hope it's not Ino… I like her as a teammate and all, but she's still bossy and annoying most of the time. Oh wait, the hair is short. That means…

"Hi Naruto."

"Hi Choji! What'cha doing?"

"I'm just going to get some groceries for my mom. What are you doing?"

"Anou, I'm just going to get some ramen at Ichiraku. Wanna come? I'm sure your mom can wait for the groceries, you know?"

I thought about it. Naruto was right, I really didn't need to buy the groceries right now… and I was kind of hungry. I prefer barbeque to ramen, but food is food.

"Sure Naruto, I'll go with you."

"Sugoi!"

I followed the hyper blonde to the ramen stand, where we were greeted by the old man and the waitress Ayame. I kind of wondered why I had gone with Naruto; I knew him, but he wasn't really a friend. Oh well, maybe I could get to know him now. Him and Shika seem to get along pretty well, now that I think about it. We ordered our ramen. I still wonder what was bothering Shikamaru. It takes something pretty big to make him upset or confused; I mean, he's a genius, even if he's lazy as hell sometimes. But he'd still do anything for his friends, and that's why I like him.

"Choji, are you okay? You're totally spacing out!"

I came out of my thoughts and saw that our orders had arrived. Naruto had already managed to eat two bowls. I started on mine.

"I was…just thinking. Hey Naruto, do you have anyone… that you like? Last I heard you were fixated on Sakura-chan."

Naruto almost choked on his ramen. I guess it was kind of weird for me to ask him that sort of question, but for some reason I was curious. Maybe because I thought we could relate in some way?

"A-anou…

(Naruto POV)

How am I supposed to answer that? I mean… I don't really know Choji very well. But he does seem like a nice guy. I don't think he would judge me or anything, and he's a friend of Shikamaru so he has to be pretty cool, right? And I do wanna tell someone… okay, here you go Uzumaki!

"A-anou… I don't like Sakura in that way anymore. She has her nice moments and everything and she's much better now than a few years ago but… she's more like a big sister or something now. Um, I do like someone else though…"

Choji looked intrigued. Was he really that interested?

"Who do you like, Naruto?"

'_Tell him! Maybe he could help me, or at least listen to my story. This is Choji, he's a nice guy.'_

"I… do you know Sabaku no Gaara?"

-somewhere in Suna a certain red-haired Kazekage sneezed-

* * *

(Gaara's POV)

"Achoo!"

"Kazekage-sama? Daijoubu ka?" I tried not to, but the blank stare I gave the talking man must have looked like a death glare (unintentionally, on my part) judging from the fearful expression that crossed his normally serious features. I could hear Kankuro snicker at that, but he was immediately silenced with a quick slap from the blonde woman across the table from him. Sometimes even I was afraid of Temari's temper. And the reach of her swift hand - not that she'd ever dare to hit me. But there was always that chance with that fiery woman.

"I'm fi-achoo!" I sneezed again, this time getting enough forewarning to bring my arm up to cover my mouth. When I lowered my, now, soggy sleeve, I looked around the room with distain. Everyone, even my siblings, looked very concerned. It was obvious as to why. I _never_ sneeze. The last time I sneezed had to be when I was just a child - before my father tried to kill me. It was an interesting bodily function, I had to admit, but I ignored that thought in order to wonder _why_ it was I was sneezing. I never got sick and nothing had been able to irritate my nose, both of which I had to thank my shield of sand for. It, literally, let nothing through without putting up a fight first. Which meant that I had no real reason behind sneezing.

"This meeting is to be rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon…" Temari stated firmly as she stood up, placing her palms down on the wooden table all of my advisors were surrounding. There wasn't a single grumble or objection, but not a single person shifted in their seat. "_Leave now!_" Temari raised her voice and, with a sadistic smirk on my face, I watched as a few of the old men jumped at her tone. It wasn't often she would demand something like this - especially when I hadn't permitted it.

Once the last of my advisors, and their barely contained fear, left the room, Kankuro went to close the door and my two siblings watched me with curious eyes. I tried my hardest to glare at them, but they only got a muffled 'achoo' out of me as I sneezed a third time.

"…Gaara…" I could hear the concern in my sister's voice, which annoyed me even more than the persistent fits. I looked over to Kankuro, who, for once, was just as alarmed as Temari. They didn't worry about me…especially over something like _this_ - something that was supposed to be normal. I sneezed again, which made me decide to have an extensive medical study done on the causes of the damnable things in order to prevent this from happening again.

"Is he allergic to anything?" Kankuro asked, his eyes pulling away from me so he could look at Temari. She shrugged, folding her arms across her chest as they studied me and my sneezing spell. I glanced from one sibling to the other, noticing that (once I finished sneezing for the tenth time) there was a definite change in atmosphere. They knew something and found it funny, guessing from the smirks on their faces.

"I guess someone's talking about our poor Gaara…" Temari stated with a chuckle. I raised an eyebrow, which nullified the intensity of the glare I gave her as a response. Her statement had gotten Kankuro to laugh outright. Whatever they were talking about had to do with me…and I didn't know what it was, so it was logical I got a little aggravated. I growled softly, knowing that if I opened my mouth again, I'd probably just end up sneezing again. "…It's an old saying, Gaara…that someone sneezes when someone else is talking about them…"

_I'll kill them…_I decided as I let that tidbit of information sit in my mind for a moment. _But who would be stupid enough to talk about me…when they obviously know what I can do to them…_

That day, I couldn't get the thought of finding out who dared speak behind my back. Pitifully, though, I somewhat wished it was a certain blonde idiot back in Konoha who was spreading rumors about me. That would mean I'd have to visit Konohagure soon…and have a chat with the amazingly sexy shinobi.

"Achoo!…We are-achoo…going to Kono-achoo…ha!"

* * *

Choji's POV 

"I… Do you know Sabaku no Gaara?"

I was honestly shocked to hear the name. All I knew about Sabaku no Gaara was that he's the Kazekage of Sunagakure. Naruto knows the Kazekage?

"Kind of. He's the Kazekage of Suna, right?"

"Yeah! I can't believe he became Kazekage before I became Hokage!"

I sweat dropped. Always Naruto with his dream of being the Hokage…

But, Naruto liked a guy too! Should I tell him about Shikamaru? Maybe…

"So what do you see in Gaara-san, Naruto?"

Naruto got an uncharacteristic dreamy expression on his face. I realized that he had fallen hard for the Suna shinobi. If I talked about Shikamaru to someone, would I look like that…?

"Anou, really it's because… he's just like me, in a lot of ways. We both know pain, loneliness, hate… we've both had to deal with it. I fought him during the Chuunin exams- you know, when Orochimaru tried to destroy the village?- and looking at him, and how screwed up he was back then… it really hit me deep. And when he was killed by the Akatsuki and Chiyo-baachan brought him back, he looked so surprised to see that people cared about him. Seeing his loneliness… I think that's when I fell for him. Also, he's an awesome fighter and now that he has precious people too, he fights to protect his village and… he's really sexy!"

I was truly amazed. Naruto had just poured out his soul to me, and for once I could see how he had suffered at the hands of the village. I don't know why a lot of people seem to hate him, but by the way he talked about loneliness suggested that it really got to him, even if he didn't show it. This made me sad; Naruto seemed like such a bright and happy person, yet he carried so much underlying loneliness.

"So, when was the last time you saw Gaara-san?"

Naruto lost his dreamy look and it was replaced by a somewhat sad and lonely expression. My heart went out to him.

"Anou… the last time I saw him was after we rescued him from Akatsuki. I was nervous about shaking his hand, but he used his sand to bring my hand up and he shook it. Then we left."

I sweat dropped again. I mean, a handshake? Why not a hug or something? Poor Naruto looks really depressed. Unrequited love huh? Don't I know about that… Aw, Naruto looks so sad. I should try to cheer him up…

"So how do you know that handshake didn't have some deep, hidden meaning behind it?"

Naruto had a skeptic look on his face. I persisted on.

"He's been lonely his whole life, right? Maybe he really likes you but he didn't how else to express it, so he gave you a handshake."

I sounded ridiculous, even to me, and eventually Naruto's face crinkled up and he started laughing his head off. That set me off too. We must have looked funny, both of us cracking up inside the stand. If felt nice to have a good laugh though.

"Naruto-kun, Chouji-kun!"

We were so surprised by this sudden greeting that we both fell out of our chairs and crashed into the floor.

* * *

(Neji's POV) 

"And you know what I said?…yosh!"

I sighed, happy that I had learned years ago to drown out my noisy friend's yammering with my own thoughts. There was only so much 'Lee' one man could take - and, while my tolerance level was abnormally high, it wasn't _that_ high that I'd actually listen to his conversation with himself over what he and Gai could possibly talk about while training this morning. Sometimes it was better just to smile (or, in my case, blink every now and again) and nod your head. Once in a while, you could even give a 'that's good' in order to keep up the pretense of listening to his incessant rambling. Sometimes it helped to have people think anything more than two words out of you is a prophecy. It gives you a good chance to ignore them.

We turned a corner, Lee still going on his 'yosh' tangent, and I was inwardly bouncing in joy. Lee had suggested we go to Ichiraku's to celebrate whatever it was that he was talking about. The news we were celebrating wasn't actually what had gotten me excited, it was the chance to visit Ichiraku's. Because of my cold demeanor, I couldn't seriously visit Ichiraku's every night. People would begin associating me with the ramen-fiend, Naruto. And, as much as I loved the noodles and soup, I had a reputation to keep. But, if I could have, I would have probably lived in the restaurant.

And, lucky for me, Lee knew that small fetish of mine. Even more fortunate for me was the fact that Lee was also a closet-ramen-aficionado…that and that Lee always had enough money to treat us both to ramen for the smallest of things. Sometimes I wondered how the shinobi had so much money when we got the same paychecks, but passed it up to the details concerning his clothing - in all the years I knew Lee, he never needed to go clothes shopping because he outgrew his current wardrobe or that he wanted an image change. I didn't consider myself obsessed with my outward appearance, but I had to admit I loved getting new clothes…it was just so much fun to see how my family would react to my newest choice in style.

"Yosh!" Lee's unusually exuberant cry brought me out of my meditative state and I smirked slyly when I saw we were standing in front of Ichiraku's. We entered the ramen stand and Lee froze so abruptly, I ran into his muscular back. Before I had the chance to demand a reason as to why he stopped, I caught the blush on the teen's cheeks and I couldn't help but follow his gaze.

_…he's here…_I felt my cheeks begin to mirror Lee's when I saw _him_ sitting only a few feet away, a broad grin across his marked face. His laugher was the most uplifting thing I had ever heard and I knew my best friend held the same observation. I subtly caught glimpses at him from time to time, admiring his natural beauty, but today, he looked particularly amazing. I almost forgot where I was - who I was - and went out to touch his hair and face, but pulled back when Lee made the first move.

"Naruto-kun, Choji-kun!" The pair, literally, fell out of their seats when they heard my comrade's exclamation. Apparently we had interrupted something very secretive, from the amazed - and slightly frightened - looks we got as Naruto helped his friend off the restaurant's floor. I raised an eyebrow, trying to remember if I had caught anything they had said from my half-ignoring state. _Gaara…they were talking about him…I wonder why…_I thought to myself as I followed Lee over to the pair and exchanged pleasantries. It was the least I could do after seeing him blush like that.

"Oi, Fuzzy Eyebrows…what are you two doing here?" Naruto asked as he righted their stools. I glared at him from behind my friend. Sure, Naruto never calls Lee by his first name, but he didn't even _mention_ me…as if it wasn't possible to see me as an entire person, without my spandex-clad friend around. Sometimes, that generalization annoyed me, but I knew that, for the most part, it was true. Whenever someone saw me in public, Lee was there. It wasn't my choice to be my best friend's babysitter; it was how things happened.

"We're going to celebrate!" Lee cried, pumping a fist into the air. I couldn't help but admire his nice save of face. Only a moment ago, we were stunned, blushing, as we watched our (mutual) crush laugh and joke without realizing we were there.

"Celebrate what?" Choji said curiously, his eyes shifting to Lee. The black-haired teen smiled brightly, giving the young man a thumbs up before taking a seat at the counter between the wall and Naruto. That left me only one place to sit…and I knew I would either kill Lee or thank him for this selfless gesture later. I slid onto the empty stool next to Choji and occupied myself with ordering a pork ramen while my energetic teammate gave Choji and Naruto a quick summary of whatever he had been talking about on the way here. By the time I received my bowl of ramen and snapped my chopsticks apart, Lee had finished with a shiny smile and matching sunset backdrop. Sometimes his antics were the only reason I got up in the morning.

"So, what about you, Neji?" I nearly spit out my ramen - while choking on my chopsticks - when I heard _his _voice. It was a beautiful, rich sound that I was unworthy of hearing, but I couldn't stop myself from enjoying the tone. "…Neji?"

_What about me? What were they talking about?_ I wondered as I caught a quick glimpse of Lee and he quickly made a signal for relationships - Lee and I had devised an entire language of signing, which came in handy, with his amazing speed and my Byakugan, on missions. I nodded my head slightly, just enough that my friend caught it. If it was relationships we were discussing - which I would have to ask Lee later how they got on that subject when they were supposedly talking about Lee's reason for celebrating. "…what about me?" I asked, keeping my aloof façade in place as I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear with my index finger. No one but Lee understood the act's significance. _Thanks…bastard…_ I loved being able to curse out my best friend without even saying a word. It let me remain cool and collected (or _seeming_ to be that) while his eyes were on me and he continued our conversation.

"Do you believe in love at first sight or fate, Neji?" The way he said my name gave me shivers. Thankfully, I had opted to wear my heavy jacket this morning, so he didn't see me tremble slightly as I kept my mouth shut. If I answered, I knew I'd say something I would regret - which would undoubtedly ruin this opportunity for mingling. I raised an eyebrow, staring into his dark eyes, and hoped that my expression was something close to the exact opposite of what I was actually feeling - anxiety. "…heh, silly question…of course it'd be fate…"

_Wrong…_ "Actually…love at first sight…" I replied, mentally cursing my loud mouth. But I couldn't help it! The most stunning creature was sitting so close to me I could feel the heat radiating off his body. _Love at first sight…_ It was an interesting concept that I had only had the fortune (or misfortune, however you looked at it) to experience once. When I was younger and I had been forced to walk Hinata to her academy classes, I caught my first glimpse of the object of my affections. Back then, he looked vastly different than today, but even back when I was only a child of around seven years old, I could tell there was something special about him.

Thinking about it for a moment, I realized that this was actually the first time I had ever seen him without his faithful best friend - and I couldn't be any happier. I always knew that if I tried to talk to him, that pineapple brat would either pull him away or ruin our conversation in some other way. Why did Shikamaru have to be so protective?

* * *

(Choji POV) 

It was kind of nice to talk to Lee-kun and Neji-kun, even if Lee-kun had scared the hell out of Naruto and I with his usual overenthusiastic greeting. Where does he get all of the energy…? I was surprised to see Neji-kun with him. He doesn't seem like the ramen type, but who knows? We all have things we like, and it's not my business to pry. So Neji-kun believes in love at first sight instead of fate? Who would have known? I wonder if it's happened to him? I've personally never fallen in love at first sight. With Shikamaru it was gradual, we were friends first. But during the failed Sasuke retrieval mission, when he showed me how much strength I had inside… when he relied on me… told me I wasn't useless… that's then I fell in love. Speaking of which, I still want to continue my talk with Naruto… It would be rude to ditch Lee-kun and Neji-kun, but I really need to talk to someone, especially someone with the same problem. Now, how to do this as politely as possible… Aha. I turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, would you help me with the groceries I need to get for my mom? I would do it myself, but it'd be faster with two people."

He looked surprised for a second, but then he smiled happily. I think Naruto would be a great friend.

"Anou, sure I'll help, Choji! Let's pay and go!"

I then turned around and smiled at Lee-kun and Neji-kun.

"It was nice talking to you guys. Hope you enjoy your meal."

Then Naruto and I paid for our ramen and left. Was it my imagination, or did Lee-kun and Neji-kun blush when I talked to them…? Naw, must be my imagination. Naruto and I pushed through the busy streets and instead of heading toward the store I went in the direction of the tree that Shikamaru and I usually sit under to watch the clouds. Naruto noticed, but didn't say anything, for which I was grateful. When we came to the tree I flopped under it and stared at the sky for a bit. Naruto plopped down too, but instead of staring at the sky he propped himself up on his elbows and stared at me.

"So if we're not going to the store… why are we here Choji?"

He looked genuinely curious, and I knew that I had chosen the right person to talk too. Why had I never really thought of Naruto as a friend before? Guess I was always with Shikamaru… getting back to the subject.

"I just… need someone to talk too. You already poured out your soul to me, so is it okay if I do the same?"

For some reason his face split into the most earth shattering grin ever and his whole face seemed to light up. It was fascinating really.

"Anou, so you like someone too? Who? Ino-chan?"

I assumed a horrified expression. Ino? No way, never. Naruto must have noticed because he stared laughing his ass off.

"Anou sa, I was just kidding Choji! But really, who is it?"

I gave him a half annoyed glare for making fun of me, but I was really glad that he had been kidding.

"Well… I really like Shikamaru. A lot."

(Naruto's POV)

I was really happy that Choji wanted to confide something in me. He's a really nice guy, you know? He's a good friend now I think. I honestly wasn't surprised that he liked Shikamaru. Those two were always friends, who said that it wouldn't develop into something more?

"So you like Shikamaru? Heh, that's good, I guess. He may be the laziest chuunin ever, but he's still a good guy. He even accepts me! So what's the deal?"

Choji looked slightly sad for a moment, something that really looked out of place with his usually cheerful demeanor. I wonder what's up?

"I… don't want to tell him. I mean, I probably should, but I don't know how to say it and I don't want something like that to ruin the friendship we already have."

I thought for a bit.

"But if he's really your friend he won't care right? He'd probably just say, 'Mendokusee.'"

I knew I had said the wrong thing when Choji's expression plummeted.

"But… I don't want him to think that it's troublesome. I… want him to like me back."

I tried to think what to say. I could pretty much relate to Choji, seeing as we both liked guys but were too afraid to tell them. Hell, I'll probably never see Gaara again until I'm Hokage and we meet for a peace meeting or negotiation. Great, depressing thoughts…

Choji and I lay there in the grass under the tree, both of us immersed in our personal, gloomy thoughts. If someone saw us I bet there would be this gloom cloud or something floating overhead. Surprisingly, Choji broke the silence.

"Shika was acting kind of weird today."

I paid more attention to him when he used the name Shika instead of Shikamaru. The way he said it, he sounded kinda worried. And the nickname showed how much he really liked the lazy bum. Wait… Shikamaru was acting weird?

"What do you mean by weird?"

Choji frowned slightly.

"He was more distracted that usual, and he actually stopped cloud gazing to go wandering around. I left after a while because I could tell he had something on his mind that he didn't want to share. He can usually share everything with me though… Maybe he sick? He fell asleep under the tree and started moaning in his sleep. I woke him up and that's when he started acting weird."

Choji sounded sad and worried, and I felt sorry for him. Well when I was depressed he tried to cheer me up, why shouldn't I do the same? And the part about Shikamaru moaning in his sleep… I suddenly grinned. Was it possible…?

"Maybe Shikamaru was dreaming about you."

Choji gave me a look that clearly said, 'huh?' My grin became wider.

"You know- one of 'those' dreams."

Choji went as red as a tomato and I inwardly snickered.

"Naruto! D-don't joke about things like that!"

"Hey, it's possible! Why else would a boy be moaning in his sleep?"

"Naruto!"

I snickered out loud at Choji's rapidly reddening face. It was nice to have friends… so Shikamaru might actually be interested? I honestly don't think his body would bother to have a wet dream about anyone unless he was genuinely interested, so maybe Choji will get his wish. I just have to figure out if Shikamaru feels what Choji does… If I can't get my own love life off the ground, why not help a friend? Gaara… what are you doing right now I wonder? Probably death-glaring the crap out of someone… heh.

* * *

(Gaara's POV) 

I let my eyes wander around our small party, immediately focusing on my _loving_ brother, who had been stealing glances at me since we left Suna half an hour ago. He could barely contain his laughter, I knew it. And it aggravated me to no end. So, keeping with my reputation, I gave him a death glare that probably could have had killed every member of the Akatsuki, along with Orochimaru, in one glance. I prided myself in that particular ability. Not even Kankuro was immune to my infamous death glare, so while he noticeably flinched, I let out a deep chuckle that got even my own skin to prickle slightly. Oh, I loved scaring people. That way, they didn't even _try_ to get to know me. As for the few people who actually knew me, namely my siblings and the Kyuubi container, Uzumaki Naruto, they didn't so much _fear_ me as respect me and my powers. Kankuro and Temari had seen what I was capable of, but they still remained beside me, so I could easily forgive them (and occasionally scare them when the need arose…like right now).

I cracked my knuckles for emphasis and smirked when Kankuro turned his head back to look ahead and kept his vision forwards for the next few hours of jogging. Temari was smart enough not to ask why I had set such a brisk pace, but Kankuro had given me a few curious looks. Thankfully, those glances ended as soon as I glared at him. I knew that, with a little prying, Kankuro could easily get me to confess exactly _why_ I wanted to go to Konohagure out of the blue. It wasn't the sneezing, which had thankfully ended around the same time we left the village's gates, but something that would get my brother to tease me for months.

In all actuality, I just wanted to travel to Konoha for one simple…_blonde _reason. Not only blonde, but an intelligence hidden under a mask of joviality - eyes so blue, I found myself looking at the sky and only seeing a pale comparison to such a color…and a fierce loyalty to everyone who meant something to him. Inwardly, I laughed at my own pathetic life. Whereas he was…light - since I couldn't even think of another word so radiant to describe him - I was darkness. I never appreciated the love my siblings had for me until after he, to put it eloquently, beat the idea of _caring _into me. Over time, it wasn't such a foreign feeling - to be protected by people who would die to save me. All it took was one person to change my entire life around. And, as though the gods were making my already dismal existence out to be a cruel joke, I fell for the demon container…I fell _hard_.

I pilfered a few of Temari's 'romance novels' and read through them when no one was watching - and I decided that if I ever met this 'Jiraiya-sama,' I might just have to castrate him, kill him…or shake his hand. Because of the man, I was able to figure out exactly _why_ I could hardly sleep (not that I slept much anyways…so, it was more or less, loosing my meditative periods) - why I couldn't look at anything orange, yellow, or blue without thinking of _him_. Actually, everything these days centered around a certain blonde who declared himself the next Hokage.

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't realize a soft smile had crossed my face until Temari squealed and Kankuro chuckled. I quickly erased the smile from my face and gave them both death glares that could have, easily, turned the sand around us to glass if I had directed my pressured gaze at it. "So, Gaara…I'm guessing this trip isn't exactly all _business_, is it?" Kankuro stated slyly, his voice insinuating exactly what had been running through my mind as we left the village a while ago. So, naturally, my face warmed up and I experienced my first true blush. And, being the sister she was, Temari squealed a second time and glomped me before my sand could save me from her loving attack. So, for the second time today, I blushed as I tried to pry myself away from her massive chest. Temari didn't let go of me until she had sufficiently squeezed the breath out of me and I was left gasping for air.

"So, _who_ exactly are we going to visit?" Kankuro asked, eying me curiously as we returned to our earlier pace and continued towards Konohagure. I tried my hardest to keep staring forwards, acting as if I hadn't heard him, but I couldn't control the sheepish grin that came to my face with the thought of 'accidentally' running into the main reason for my visit. Of course, to keep up pretenses, I would have to visit Konoha's Hokage - which made me realize that, if I did that, I might actually have more of a chance of 'accidentally' running into him. That brought an even wider smile to my face. I had it all planned out in my head.

I would be coming out of the Hokage's office after some important meeting - which I wouldn't have been paying much attention to since my mind would be centered around a certain blonde I had heard come barging into the building only a few minutes into our meeting. Once I had cleared her office door, I would find myself face to face with the same pair of eyes that had me wondering how something could be so blue. And, keeping with my cool attitude, I wouldn't say anything as I brush past him, making sure our shoulders inadvertently touch. And he would, being the loud, obnoxious shinobi that he was, would start yelling something at me, probably demanding me to stop being such a bastard to him. As usual.

It would be at that point I would turn enough to look at him and I would smirk. Not an evil smirk, like most people _knew_ I was capable of, but an actual smile that would subtly show my interest. He, of course, wouldn't notice the gesture for what it actually was and he, most likely, would think I was mocking him, which would just make him yell even more. I liked when he yelled like that - it made you realize he wasn't trying to hide anything…that he was being entirely truthful to you. That must have been what first attracted me to him; he was so open to everyone, even if he didn't even know you.

Perhaps that's why I decided to give that Uchiha my name…so the blonde could know what to call me later on.

* * *

(Shikamaru's POV) 

I sighed, mouthing my favorite saying as I walked along the dark streets of Konoha. It was late at night, so I was hardly surprised to find no one out except for the few drunks or nocturnal members of our community. The other few people on the streets looked at me strangely - probably wondering why a teenager was roaming around so late at night. They probably would think I was some kind of hoodlum…if I hadn't decided to wear my chuunin vest. Everyone in the village recognized my jacket for what it was and treated me respectfully, but I didn't like how they viewed me differently since I became a chuunin. When I was still a genin, they regarded me as a child, but now - I was an adult in the mind of the village. And, to be truthful, I disliked the reminder of my rank every time I looked at someone. That's why, when I was off duty for long periods of time (like the past few weeks), I did without the indicating clothing. Tonight, it just happened to be cold enough that I needed the jacket.

I slipped off the dimly-lit street in order to start walking towards the training grounds. It wasn't my usual sitting place, but I knew I couldn't go to any of my cloud-watching places unless I wanted to return home with more questions than I started off with. I wanted nothing but a quiet place to think over exactly what my father had told me tonight.

_Attracted to a certain quality in someone…that's what he said caused my…dream…_I thought to myself, remembering how flippant my father had been about the entire situation. If he didn't think it was such a big deal, that had to mean that it really _was_ normal. My father may be a pain in the ass most of the time, but he wasn't someone who lied in order to make someone feel better. He could lie about small things, but never when it came to someone's emotions. Or me.

"Lee…it's really late out. Why did you drag me out here?" I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard that particular voice. It was unmistakably _Choji_'s. I raised an eyebrow, keeping my 'mendokusee' comment to just a thought as I slipped closer to the voices - I could now hear Lee's loud voice as well.

"I-I wanted to train…" I didn't even have to see the shinobi's face in order to imagine the brilliant smile he had to be giving my best friend. Immediately after I heard his reply, I felt my body tense up. Lee was far beyond Choji's skills, so why would the older teen want to train with Choji of all people. Hell, even someone like Ino would be closer to Lee's abilities. Choji's skills focused around his sheer size, but against someone as fast _and_ strong as Lee, he'd have no chance of winning.

"Train…? It's midnight, Lee…" Ah, leave it to a sleep-deprived Choji to be blunt. I knew better than to wake him up when he was contently sleeping - especially for something like training. I could almost taste the Akimichi's oncoming refusal, so I was amazed when it didn't immediately come. I took a few steps closer to the origin of the voices and bent down to the ground as I came out of the shade of the trees. I glanced around, recognizing the training field as one of the more open areas - one I frequently used with Choji to work on his family's jutsu. I slinked along the ground, making sure I couldn't be seen above the shrubbery that was keeping me from view. I could glance through thinning areas of the foliage to see my best friend standing in front of Lee with a curious expression on his face. Apparently, I had missed something that had been said.

"…Lee…?" Yep, I missed something very big from the sound of my best friend's voice. He sounded so confused; even more so than the last time we found out Ichiraku's had closed for a week. It took me a moment to find the perfect spying place, but I finally found a large enough hole in the shrubs that I could see everything in the clearing and I was lucky enough to find it right above a soft patch of grass. I would have been slightly annoyed to be forced to sit on rocks or something, but I would do it anyways, since it was my best friend I was 'checking up' on. I knew it was more spying than anything else, but I couldn't leave them alone without ignoring my conscience - along with all protective instincts I had for Choji.

I studied the two teens again, my eyes narrowing when I saw a splash of color in my best friend's hand. _A flower?_ I stared at the flower for a moment, immediately recognizing the burst of pink as a lotus blossom. One day, I would have to thank Ino for all those botany lessons she drilled into my head during our missions. I glanced up to my friend's face and was surprised to see a faint blush on his swirled cheeks. It didn't take an ounce of my genius IQ to figure out what exactly I had missed.

Lee had given him a flower…which apparently wasn't meant to be taken in any way but the obvious. I nearly growled when I realized exactly _why_ my best friend was holding a lotus blossom…why he was out here at midnight in the first place. I tightened my hand into a fist as I mentally began listing the ways I could kill Lee without anyone finding out for at least two days. The first on my list dealt with castration prior to murder - as did most of the other ideas.

From someone else's point of view, I might have seemed jealous, but I was far from it. Jealousy wasn't this intense…this powerful; I knew that. So, I decided to name the new burning sensation flowing through my body defensiveness. I knew I would protect my best friend from whatever Lee was trying to offer…unless the feeling was mutual. If that was the case, I would sit back and not meddle in my friend's affairs. But the thought of ignoring this new relationship hurt a great deal more than it should have.

(Choji POV.)

Yes, I had been surprised when Lee has asked me to train with him. It was almost midnight, what sane person would be awake at all, especially wanting to train? I looked at Lee blurrily, just wanting to go to sleep. I had been even more surprised when he thrust a pink lotus flower into my hand.

"…Lee…?

I could feel a slight blush rise to my cheeks. Lee had given me a flower. Why would he…?

"For you , my blossom! Yosh!"

He did his signature 'nice guy' pose then walked away into the night. I stood there clutching the flower, wondering what the hell Lee meant by that.

'I'm glad Shika didn't see that…'

* * *

(Gaara's POV) 

I looked up at the massive wooden doors again. They had opened a while ago, but I had yet to walk through the large doorway. It was smart of the Hokage to create such a large entrance that it seemed fearsome to visitors. It gave the impression that the village was powerful - which it was - and that the whole village knew it. I took a hesitant step forwards, after glancing at my siblings' backs and seeing how far ahead they were. Even though I was uncertain about entering the village, I couldn't turn back unless I wanted to have more than just my brother and sister to answer to. Tsunade would want to know why I left without even greeting her.

"So, Gaara, where should we go first?" Kankuro asked mockingly as I slowly caught up with him and Temari. My sister had remained quiet for the rest of our trip after the whole 'blushing' thing. I knew she was probably listing every possible person I could be attracted to in Konohagure. And I was sure Naruto wasn't on that list. I didn't even think I'd be interested in one loudmouthed, blonde idiot.

"I want to visit the Hokage…" I stated simply, remembering my earlier plans. If everything worked out, I might be spending more time in Konoha - or putting in a few new rooms to the palace in Suna.

"So na…is she the one you wanted to come _visit_?" Kankuro questioned, smiling perversely when I frowned slightly and turned my head to look at the side of the road. Ever since I had started opening up to my family, he was nothing but a pain in the ass. Too bad I couldn't kill him…

"Just let it drop, Kankuro," Temari said, gently hitting Kankuro in the back of the head with the butt of her fan. I caught the action out of the corner of my eye and, when I would usually chuckle and admire her violent response, I glared at the understanding look that passed through her eyes as she caught my brother's gaze. She knew something. "Go ahead to see the Hokage, Gaara…Kankuro and I'll get us some rooms…and we'll go do some shopping…"

"_Shopping!_" Kankuro made it sound like a death sentence. But, knowing our sister, it pretty much was. I smirked at his misfortune, and quickly continued on my way to the Hokage tower. When I had reached the base of the steps that led up to Tsunade's office, I was surprised to see who was coming down in the opposite direction. _This wasn't in my plan…_I thought, my heartbeat speeding up as deep blue eyes met mine.

"…Naruto…"

(Naruto POV)

I was feeling good after my little talk with Choji yesterday, so after training I went to annoy Tsunade-baachan and ask her for a higher ranked mission than a C or D. I'll never become the next Hokage if I kept getting such crappy missions! As predicted, the old hag just yelled at me and hit me on the head with her monster strength.

"Itai! That hurt, Tsunade-baachan!"

"Don't call me baachan, gaki! No, I don't have any higher ranking missions for you and, if you don't leave right now, I'll sick you with the worst D-ranking mission you've ever had!"

The hag seemed more annoyed than usual, and I guessed that Shizune had found her hidden stash of sake again. I knew that baachan was sadistic enough to actually give me a damn D-ranked mission, so I left.

"Stupid Tsunade-baachan…"

I muttered as I headed down the steps, idly wondering if Choji was doing anything today…. I was so absorbed in my thoughts I almost didn't see someone else walking up the stairway. I looked to see who it was and was met with an icy, emerald-green stare. The eyes that had been haunting me for months… the ones I thought I wouldn't see again for a couple of years at least.

"…Naruto…"

After he said my name, all I could do was stare at him, taking him in. Silky red hair, flawlessly white skin, emerald eyes… I was frozen, unable to move or speak. His glare softened a bit and a single word escaped my lips.

"Gaara…"

For some reason I felt like hugging him, crying, running, just something. My cursed body still refused to move, so we just stood there staring at each other. My hands started to shake slightly.

'What's he doing here?'

He was still glaring slightly, and I knew he was wondering why I was so quiet. Shit, I really wasn't expecting this. If I had known he was coming I might have been able to act normally but no, he just had to come out of nowhere, and now… I couldn't even speak to him. Damn Naruto, say something!

"Kazekage-sama… what an unexpected pleasure."

We both looked up to see Tsunade on the top of the stairs, her arms folded over her massive chest. I mean, really massive. How does she even stand up straight…? Okay, back to the present subject. Gaara inclined his head respectfully toward Tsunade-baachan.

"I'm sorry for the unexpected visit, Hokage-sama."

His rich, deep baritone voice almost made me shiver. Kami, even Gaara's voice was sexy…

"Will you come into my office please? Naruto, you may escort him."

Tsunade-baachan headed back to her office and I followed, with Gaara right behind me. I felt uncharacteristically nervous, and…my chest hurt a little. Tsunade-baachan sat at her desk while Gaara sat across from her. I stood quietly near the door, waiting for their little meeting to start. Tsunade-baachan folded her hands in front of her.

"So, to what do we owe this pleasant, but unexpected visit, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara's facial expression never shifted from his emotionless expression. I felt pain when I saw it; had Gaara ever smiled? Did he still carry the pain left over from his childhood? I just wanted to cheer him up or something, anything…but what would he say?

"…I needed a vacation from my duties and thought that this would be a good chance to visit fire country and establish better relations with Konohagure."

My head drooped to the ground. So Gaara was on vacation and wanted to strengthen the ties of Sunagure and Konohagure. For a while I was hoping…that he came to see me.

(Tsunade's POV)

I frowned inwardly when I saw Naruto's head drop. He had been acting weird ever since he had run into the Kazekage brat on the stairway. Hadn't said a word, and seemed depressed-definitely not in character for him. I probably looked deep in thought, because the Kazekage discreetly glanced in Naruto's direction. I studied his eyes; the brat seemed perplexed, and also… concerned? When his gaze returned to me his eyes were devoid of any emotion at all. This kid was good at putting on a mask…

"Well Kazekage-sama, you'll need a place to stay… and I'll also provide and escort for you. Did you bring anyone with you?"

I noticed that Naruto had perked up when I mentioned an escort for the Kazekage. Hmm… interesting.

"Naruto. I would like you to be escort to the Kazekage. You will be paid accordingly, and be excused from formal training and regular missions for a bit. Do you accept?"

The gaki's face suddenly split into a humongous grin, and I felt myself smile as well, the grin was so contagious.

"Hai, Tsunade-baachan!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT, GAKI!"

I noticed that the Kazekage brat seemed highly amused by our little outburst, and I had to refrain from glaring at him.

'Damn sand gaki.'

"Well, Gaara-sama, for now will you fill out this paper work? Naruto will come by later to escort you to your room."

He nodded in consent and I noticed that Naruto practically skipped out of doorway. Very interesting… now, to the damn paper work.

* * *

(Naruto's POV) 

When Tsunade-baachan said that I could be Gaara's escort, I was so happy! Maybe when I came to pick him up I could manage to talk like a normal person…

Feeling extremely happy, I made my way to Ichiraku's for a celebratory ramen. To my delight, Choji was sitting at the counter when I arrived. I smiled and said hello, but my smile disappeared when I saw the stricken expression on his usually cheerful face. I sat on the stool next to him.

"Choji, what's wrong?"

He slowly turned to look at me and I could see that something was seriously stressing him out.

"Naruto… I'm so confused."

His head dropped into his chest and he just sat there dejectedly. I noticed a rather wilted lotus blossom clutched in his hand.

"Anou… mind telling me what happened?"

"…Lee asked me to come with him last night, and I did because I didn't want to be rude. When we came to the training ground he gave me this-

He indicated the flower

"- and said, 'for you, my blossom.' I still don't know what he meant…"

I looked at Choji, worried. Did geji-mayu like Choji? Wow, this could complicate things a little bit…

"…So did you say anything back to him?"

"… No, he left before I could say anything…"

"So next time you see him just say you're not interested."

"But… what if I scar him for life or something?"

"Choji, this is Lee you're talking about. Don't worry, he'll get over it."

"Okay…"

He looked at me curiously.

"So what made you decide to go here today?"

I couldn't help but have a huge grin spread across my face.

"Gaara's here!"

The surprise on his face was pretty evident. The lotus fell to the ground, forgotten, as he waited for more information.

"Why?"

"Anou, he said that he was here for vacation and to better the relationship between our villages. Also, I'm his escort for the time that we're staying here!"

"Really Naruto? That's great!"

Choji seemed genuinely happy for me, and I was grateful. I really need to find a way to hook him up with Shikamaru… I just need to find the lazy ass and talk to him.

"So… Have you talked to Gaara-san yet?"

"No… I totally froze up when I saw him. It was like I was dreaming… Jeez, who would have known that I would fall so hard for him… oh, crap! I need to go pick him up. See you later Choji!"

I waved as I ran out of the ramen stand and headed towards the Hokage tower.

(Kankuro's POV)

"No… I totally froze up when I saw him. It was like I was dreaming… Jeez, who would have known that I would fall so hard for him… oh, crap! I need to go pick him up. See you later Choji!"

I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard that particular phrasing coming from a certain blonde shinobi. I wasn't the sort for spreading gossip, but _this_ wasn't gossip. I heard it straight from the boy's mouth…which meant I would have to share this little bit of juicy information with Temari as soon as I got over the shock of it all…and was able to walk again. _Gaara…Naruto…it makes perfect sense now…_Naruto_ was the one Gaara had been coming to see…and Naruto fell for him…and neither one knows about the mutual attraction yet…sugoi…my little brother's in love…_ That thought, a few years ago, would have probably made me shake my head in disbelief, telling whoever had informed me of Gaara's capability to love that he couldn't love since he never knew it.

Nowadays, I knew my brother had the ability to love, but I had never thought he was able to love someone in _that_ sense. Brotherly love-_that_ was what I knew my brother had for Temari and me, along with everyone in our village. But _love_ love…that was something I had never anticipated.

_Temari's gonna flip when I tell her,_ I thought to myself, trying my hardest not to smirk. I found out years ago that people tended to back away from me when I smiled - especially in the way I so wanted to right now. They probably would think I had some evil plan in my head to torture someone in the worst ways possible. _Hehe…they'd be right_.

I slipped into my hotel room so silently not even the best of shinobi would have heard me. Too bad for me certain shinobi had more than just their ninja senses. Just my luck that some ninja had extra abilities - a sonar that could tell them where their siblings were at all times. As soon as I had gotten one foot into the room, I heard a feminine voice echoing through the dark room.

"Kankuro! Where have you been! It's almost midnight! Where's Gaara?" Temari spoke so quickly, I only got the general gist of her rant, but my ears perked up at the mention of our little brother. _Gaara's not back? I wonder where _he_ is…_ The perverted side of me snickered, my mind filling up of images of exactly _what_ Gaara could be doing at this time of night. The fact I overheard Naruto was his escort only fueled my images to a new level of perversion. It was such a powerful image, I almost had a nosebleed. Thankfully, my sister saved me from any embarrassing situations dealing with blood spurting from my nose. I would have had to explain at that point…and I thought it would be better to first let the idea of Naruto and Gaara holding feelings for one another to sink in first. "Don't give me that smirk! Wasn't Gaara supposed to be with you?"

"…Iie…he's being escorted by that blonde brat…Naruto…" I said, my voice suggestive to the point Temari actually raised an eyebrow as she folded her arms across her chest. I had her hooked…now, all I had to do was easily lay the information on her. Knowing Temari, if I didn't do this just right, she would attack Gaara as soon as possible and demand juicy information out of our little (shy) brother. Either that or she'd get angry at Gaara for not having enough trust in us to actually tell us why we were currently in Konoha.

"…what did you do?" Temari asked as she started walking away from me, probably searching for a light switch. I got my answer a moment later when the dim room was bathed in blinding light. I closed my eyes for a moment, but slowly opened them. I waited until my eyes had adjusted to the bright light before sighing and flopping down on a couch close by.

"…I _overheard_ something today that made me realize why Gaara had decided to come to Konoha of all places…" I said as I flipped over onto my back and turned my head enough that I could clearly see Temari sitting down across from me in a large chair. From the look on her face, she already had a pretty good idea, but wanted me to confirm it, so I let myself smirk evilly as I continued, "Gaara…came to _see _someone…but not just anyone…Naruto."

"…Naruto…" Temari said the boy's name softly, as if she was testing it for something. I could see the smile that came to her face after a moment of thought. She knew the boy better than I did, since she was always hanging around Konoha and hearing about the blonde from his friends and fellow shinobi, so if she thought him to be a good choice, then I wasn't going to object.

"I overheard Naruto talking to one of his friends about Gaara…it seems that he's gone and fallen in love with our little brother, Temari…" I said, a hint of mock sadness coming to my voice as I tucked my hands behind my head and stretched out on the couch. The furniture in Konoha was definitely more comfortable than that in Suna. Temari didn't say anything, but, then again, she didn't have to. Both of us had noticed the subtle changes in our brother's behavior lately and, when we talked about it to each other, we passed it up to his hormones. I, for one, always had a sneaking suspicion that the changes in Gaara were more than just differences in his body maturing. But the thought of love being the culprit hadn't even come to mind until today, when Temari had made an interesting comment to me as we tried to keep up with our brother's fast pace.

_'If I didn't know any better, I'd say Gaara missed someone…'_ After that statement, I could clearly see there was longing in my brother's green eyes - something I had never seen on him before, unless he was out for blood. But this held very little resemblance to _that_ - his face seemed softer, more gentle and, when I had caught a glimpse of the smile had had crossed his face as we were traveling, I knew for certain.

_Gaara's in love…but he doesn't know the feelings are mutual…but I'm not going to butt in and neither is Temari, if I can help it. He needs to learn about love for himself…and who better to teach him than someone just like him?_

_

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_  
(Gaara's POV)

I cracked open an eye and found myself staring up at an amazingly blue sky. Its color was so close to _those_ eyes that I found myself blinking in surprise. I rose up on my elbows, amazed that the sky seemed to move back as I did. Then, I could hear a soft giggle. I knew immediately that it came from the _sky_, which got me to raise an eyebrow (or lack of it) suspiciously. Last I remembered, the sky didn't giggle…or move.

"What are you doing, Gaara?" The heavens asked me. I stared at that deep blue for a moment, actually chuckling when I realized my own error. The 'sky' I had been staring at so intently was far from the actual atmosphere. I slid backwards slightly as I took in the beautiful teen's features in their entirety; large blue eyes that I had somehow mistaken for the sky above us, tan skin that was perfect except for the three whisker marks on either side of his face - which actually made him even more flawless in my mind - and the widest, most stunning smile I had ever seen.

"Naruto…" I said softly, studying his face for a reaction. His grin widened at my recognition and I could immediately feel the warmth that the teen somehow radiated with those smiles of his. I quickly discovered that those smirks were contagious as I returned the expression, which only got the blonde to chuckle.

"You shouldn't be sleeping at a time like this! Baa-chan wanted to have a meeting with you in a few minutes, remember?" I could hear the bounce to his voice, which only got me to chuckle at his joking behavior. He really didn't hold his village's leader in high enough respect. But, then again, if he was going to become Hokage himself, he couldn't really put them on the pedestal that everyone else did. I knew Naruto wouldn't want people to worship him like they did every Hokage before him.

"…" I didn't even answer him as I started to get up. Damn Tsunade and her meetings. If it hadn't been for her, I could have just laid back down and watched the blonde on top of me. I froze with that thought. _On top_. Before I didn't notice, but now I could feel the pressure of his lithe frame stretched out across me. His head was hovering so close to my own that I could see the flecks of dark blue in his eyes while his arms were resting on either side of my shoulders, holding his chest up so that it didn't touch me. As for the rest of his body, I could feel the weight of the teen's lower body resting on my own, with his legs entwined in mine. If I hadn't been so surprised at our current position, I probably would have thrown him off of me or blushed furiously, but, as things were, I just found myself staring into those blue depths.

"…you think Baa-chan would let you miss this _one_ meeting?" Naruto asked curiously, unconsciously shifting his entire body as he spoke. I could feel every movement, which sent an unfamiliar tingling through my body. I didn't know exactly why Naruto had done that and if he had gotten the same feeling as I did, but I didn't care about anything except that he did it again. I pressed my groin into the teen, smirking when I heard the blonde gasp softly.

For a moment, I wondered if I should be doing something like _this _with the boy, but before I could even think over this interesting turn of events, Naruto changed positions again. He slowly sat up, which only put more pressure on my already burning lower body. For a moment, I thought he was getting up, but was happily surprised to feel his hands relocate themselves on my chest. I was amazed that I couldn't feel any cloth between his warm hand and my sternum.

I tore my gaze away from Naruto long enough to glance down at his hands and blinked in surprise when I saw how unclothed the blonde and I were. I couldn't pull my eyes away from his body as my gaze traveled up his muscular arms, then across his equally bare chest. I couldn't help but drop my gaze to the point of contact between our bodies and blushed when I saw that _obviously_ Naruto had enjoyed using me as a bed.

"I'm sure she won't mind…" I forced myself to bite back a hiss when the blonde shifted against my lap, rubbing his inner thigh against my hardening member. I happily returned the motion and a blush came to my face when Naruto groaned softly. I hesitantly sat up, bringing my hands up to cup his scarred cheeks. _I don't want this to stop…_ I wasn't exactly sure what to do, since I had never experienced something like this before - the small fact that I was a container for Shukaku at one time made sure that I never had any relationships. Considering my inexperience in these kinds of matters, I was surprised that I wasn't having a serious mental argument over whether or not I'd lost my mind. First, I had been sleeping - which in itself was enough to make me flip out slightly…I never fell asleep so easily, especially during the day when someone else was around. That and the fact I woke up to find myself_ naked_ with an equally nude (and very hard) blonde on top of me. And second…I was finding the sensation of the lighter shinobi on my lap very arousing - even though I hadn't ever done something that was even close to this before. If only Temari and Kankuro could see me now. They'd probably laugh hysterically at my inwardly flustered state, which started to break through my emotionless mask when Naruto began gently sucking on my exposed neck. I tilted my head back enough that he could litter my neck in kisses, still mentally asking myself what the hell I was doing.

_I know what I'm doing…I'm letting Naruto have his way with me…_I thought with a small smirk. I knew that, if the blonde asked, I would let him do anything to me at this point. Anything to keep him so close I could feel the pounding of his heart against my own chest. It was speeding up noticeably as his sucking became actual bites, followed by the most gentle licks that sent shivers down my back and made my breathing patterns far from regular. Not even training - or actual battle - ever got me to pant like this or make my heartbeat so erratic it seriously felt like my heart was going to fall out of my chest.

"…Gaara…" The way Naruto hoarsely whispered my name sent a shiver through my body that ended in shifting to relieve some of the growing pressure in my lower body. That slight motion was a double-edged sword I found out as Naruto moaned softly into my neck, pressing his lower body into my developing erection. "Are you sure about this?"

_…is he serious…_I had to ask myself as I pulled back, a crease forming across my forehead as I stared into his amazingly blue eyes. There wasn't any regret in those azure orbs, but I could clearly see the hesitation in the weak smile he gave me as he pulled away from my neck. It wasn't uncertainty caused by conflicting emotions for me - even someone as emotionally impaired as me could see that - but something else. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into my chest, tucking his head under my chin and nuzzling his soft hair, when I finally placed the reasoning behind his question. _He…doesn't…want to feel like he's seducing me…_I couldn't help but smirk at that thought. I should have known Naruto would never force me into something.

"…baka…" I whispered into his blonde locks as I tightened my grip around him. I knew I wasn't very good with expressing my emotions - especially when they didn't concern hatred or killing - so I didn't know exactly what to do to prove to the blonde that I was fine with _this_. Hence I said the first thing that came to my mind. "…ai shiteru…"

My face erupted into a crimson that probably rivaled my hair color when I realized exactly what I had just said to my long-time crush. Apparently, Naruto had heard me and could see my embarrassment from the chortle that came out of him as he wrapped his arms around my neck and placed a gentle kiss on my neck. "…yo kata…I love you too, Gaara…" he whispered softly as he pulled away from my neck only to sneakily plant a kiss on my cheek. That only made me blush even more. For being the most powerful shinobi in my village, I didn't even see that coming and couldn't have defended against it even if I had, but, then again, I wouldn't have wanted to shield myself from such a tender gesture. "Kawaii…"

"…I'm not cute…" I retorted good-naturedly as I turned my head to the side, trying to hide the pink tinge to my cheeks. Naruto chuckled, obviously not convinced, as he continued to brush his lips against my face and, with each gentle caress, moving closer to my mouth.

Naruto stopped his kisses before reaching my lips and sat back on his knees - pressing on my already uncomfortable hardness - so I could see his entire face. There wasn't any doubt or fear in him. I had never met someone like that before. Even Temari and Kankuro couldn't get all of their old habits to die; the flash of fear sometimes passed through their features if I was in a bad enough mood. _Perhaps that's why I was always attracted to him_, I wondered, thinking back on the first time I had 'met' Naruto.

It had been right before my first chuunin exam. Actually, it had been my first day in Konohagure when I had caught a glimpse of that bright hair and blue eyes. I had only shown myself and introduced myself to the pissy Uchiha because _he_ was standing right there. Ever since then, I got a slight pleasure out of annoying the teen - seeing how quick he was to change emotions. _But never to hatred…_ I reminded myself. Naruto knew what it was liked to be hated by everyone…so he never actually cursed someone else's existence unless there was a good reason behind it. Thankfully, he was able to forgive me for all of my transgressions and still treat me as he did everyone else - with familiarity and friendship.

Maybe that was why I had begun feeling more for him than anyone else…because he was just like me in so many ways, but he was still able to love and care without reserve. I think respected him more than anyone else because of that and the fact that he didn't fear me like everyone else. He knew how hard my life had been and that I wasn't someone who was emotional without due reason.

"…Gaara…I love you…" I could hear the emerging uncertainty in his voice, which was, for the first time since I met him, soft and doubtful. I knew he had left off the rest of his statement for some reason and I had a good idea why, but I still had to ask.

"_But_?"

"…you're the Kazekage…and I'm just a shinobi from another village an-" Before he could add another excuse, I brought my lips down on his in a crushing kiss. It was far from gentle, but I knew the blonde could tell exactly what I had meant by it. Which was good, since I knew I'd probably make a fool out of myself if I tried to make a declaration of love and that I didn't care who he was.

For the first time in my life, I thanked whatever god existed that my sister was a closet pervert and that I had chanced on her collection one day. If I hadn't been so curious to know why they were stashed away in the far reaches of her closet (I was in there searching for a sash, since mine had mysteriously disappeared the day before), I wouldn't have figured out a few interesting details about humans and their relationships. Kankuro or Temari had yet to sit me down and have any 'chat' along those lines…which was probably a good thing since I would just try to block the image of one of my siblings having sex out of my mind during the entire conversation.

I opened my mouth so that I could lick Naruto's lower lip. I could taste the saltiness of his beloved ramen on him and, at that moment, I decided that I would have to get a ramen stand built in Suna one of these days. Sliding my arms around Naruto's waist so that I could lift his light form off my lap, I turned and gently laid him down in the grass underneath us. I smirked proudly, realizing I had done so without breaking the contact between our lips. Obviously Naruto noticed my smirk from the grin that I could feel come to his face - and the chuckle that went along with it. Taking my chance, I slipped my tongue into his warm mouth.

Naruto didn't respond immediately, which gave me a chance to rub my tongue along his soft lips and teeth. I became more daring by the moment, finally reaching out to gingerly touch his warm tongue with my own. The blonde turned his head to the side, giving me the chance to dive deeper into his mouth. He playfully returned the gesture, moving so slowly I couldn't help but growl impatiently. No one joked with me and got away with it. I quickened the movement of my tongue and smirked when the blonde did the same.

If I had ever known how amazing it felt to do something like this, I would have done it a long time ago. Hell, I would have slammed the blonde up against a wall in full daylight in the most public place I could find and kiss him senseless if it meant I could feel this again. I slowly brought a hand up to the boy's slim neck and tightened my grip - not in a threatening way, like most people would perceive it, but in order to support his head as I lifted him up slightly to be closer to him; to kiss him even more deeply than I already was.

I strengthened my hold on the blonde as I started to sit up, using my other arm to pull Naruto onto my lap by his hips. I could feel him smile as we continued the impassioned kiss - fighting for dominance as I wrapped my arm around his thin waist and loosened my grasp on his neck, using my now free hand to touch the smooth skin of his chest. Naruto wove his fingers into my hair as he started rocking his hips against my arousal. The feeling of his member touching mine - and the friction it caused - was amazing. I knew that, if I hadn't been kissing him so desperately, I wouldn't have been able to form words at this point.

I mirrored his movements and smirked when I heard him moan into my mouth. I immediately decided I wanted to hear him make that muted noise again. I slid my hand across Naruto's muscular chest, noticing that his skin prickled as I brushed against his erect nipple. I kept my hand there for a few moments, teasing the hard nub with my fingers as I felt the boy's breathing becoming irregular - like mine was as I continued to touch him.

I had a good idea what would happen if I continued touching Naruto, so I removed my hand from his chest. The blonde moaned in protest, but was silenced when I relocated my hand on our touching erections. I slid my nails along the smooth flesh of his member, proud of the shivers that erupted through the smaller teen. He didn't say anything in protest, so I continued the feather light caresses as I broke away from our kiss and tilted my head back as he attacked my neck. He untangled one of his hands from my hair and started touching my chest in the same way I had done to him.

I shuddered at the flurry of sensations that flew through me as he bent his head down low enough to take one of my nipples into his mouth. "…Naru…" I was amazed at my own ability to (nearly) pronounce his name as he gently sucked. In retaliation, I tightened my grip around his hard member as I continued stroking. Naruto muffled his gasp by biting down on my nipple, which only got me to increase my hold on him as an incredible wave of pleasure shot through me.

After reading all of Temari's collection of 'novels,' I had quite an understanding of what exactly Naruto and I were doing - and what the warm liquid seeping out of the blonde's erection meant. I ran my fingers along the tip of his penis, noticing how labored Naruto's breathing was becoming.

Naruto abruptly pulled away from my chest, resting his hands on mine as he looked into my face. _Did I do something wrong?_ I wondered, slightly fearful that he was going to tell me to stop; that he made a mistake. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the fact he was regretting this.

"…you look devastated," Naruto commented, panting slightly, with a smirk on his scarred face. I let out a shaky breath, anticipating the teen's next few words - and slightly dreading them. "…I-I…wantedustocometogether…" I blinked. That definitely wasn't the 'I don't want this' statement I had been expecting and, as soon as understanding of his rushed statement dawned on me, I blushed furiously. _He-he doesn't want to stop?_ At that moment, I considered myself the most lucky bastard in the world.

"…" I didn't know exactly what to say. I mean, what kind of intelligent comeback is there for something like _that_? I curtly nodded my head, a small smile coming to my face as realization finally hit. Naruto didn't want to stop, but wanted us to come together…which meant he wanted me to have just as much pleasure as he was. Which, in my mind, meant he would touch me. What came out of him next, though, struck me dumb.

"…I want you to come in me…" Naruto stated boldly - his voice not even quivering in the slightest. I blinked in amazement for the second time in a few moments. Not only did my crush return my feelings, but he was amazingly sexy _and_ wanted me to be seme. Yep, I sure was one lucky Kazekage.

I opened my mouth, trying to form the words I wanted to say. _Are you sure?_ I didn't want Naruto to feel pressured into this - even though our whole…problem…was his fault. I couldn't even make out a single syllable, though, when I caught a glimpse of his eyes. He was so beautiful as he sat there and looked at me with hopeful eyes. Not only was he physically attractive, but he had a personality that could even turn my moods.

"…Gaara?" Apparently, I took too much time thinking over the gorgeous shinobi in my lap and Naruto had gotten agitated with the silence. I felt a smile tug at my lips as I brushed my lips against his forehead. I could feel the warm puffs of laughing breath on my neck as I continued gently kissing his face.

"…you're…sure?" I asked softly, surprising even myself with the concern ringing in my hoarse voice. I read (in one of Temari's books) that first times weren't exactly the most pleasurable things and I was sure Naruto had never been with someone before. If he had, I'm sure that, somehow, everyone in his village (and Temari) would have known about it within days. Since I never heard of anything of the sort, I was slightly hesitant. I didn't want to hurt the blonde - well, hurt him more than an enjoyable pain…I knew that I wouldn't mind a few of the more…kinkier…bed games that I had heard of. Temari's porn novels were a fount of unnecessary information.

"…baka…I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't sure…" Naruto whispered, kissing my Adam's apple before he let his hands trace out the muscles in my back. I shivered slightly at the feeling of his nails scraping across my back. Yes, I wouldn't mind trying out a few of those _interesting_ ideas of Jiraiya-sama's one day. From the squeal that Naruto let out, he felt how his nails had affected me in the _hardest_ of ways. I couldn't help but laugh at that. He was only moments away from coming a little while ago, and he was getting flustered at my erection pressing into his body. Besides being beautiful, powerful, emotional, and all-around amazing…he was cute.

"…Kawaii…" If my brother or sister _ever_ heard me say that…I would never live it down. But, for Naruto, I was willing to forgo my bad-ass reputation for a little while. I smirked when I saw his face erupt in pink. Not even his tanned skin could hide that color.

I embraced the smaller shinobi, rubbing my lower body against him until Naruto moaned softly into my neck, returning the friction. I gently leaned forwards until Naruto was laying on his back in the soft grass, his muscular legs pressing into my sides. As I shifted my weight until I was hovering over him, Naruto started tracing out the muscles in my abdomen, his hands quickly becoming more adventurous. In moments, I found myself panting heavily. Naruto's deft hands touched me in such ways, I was unable to think beyond the point of gyrating my hips enough that Naruto could stroke every inch of me as I continued kissing him.

Naruto's hands were more than amazing. With every touch, I felt myself getting closer to the fine line between sense and insanity - and I knew the line between them was a very thin one, having crossed it more than once. I groaned as the teen tightened his grip on me, bringing me even closer to that edge. The pressure building up in my lower body was almost too much to stand and, from the chuckle that was muffled by our kissing, Naruto surmised as much.

Naruto pulled his head back, ending the battle of our tongues, as he removed his hand from my weeping member. I growled softly when I felt the warmth of his hand leave me, but easily forgave him when he used his now free hand to prop himself up, taking one of my hands by the wrist and bring it to his mouth. I watched as he began sucking on my fingers, his pink tongue darting out to seductively lick at my palm and knuckles every now and again.

The feeling of his tongue on me was enough to get me to whimper softly as he continued his ministrations, making sure to lick and suck every inch of my hand before releasing me from his grasp. I could only stare at him in amazement as my, now, wet hand brushed against his scarred cheek. He was so perfect, I couldn't believe my luck in finding him.

"Daijoubu ka?" I smirked at the worry in the boy's voice. I gently licked his lips, which were happy to continue our passionate kiss from before. As I tasted every corner of his mouth, I let Naruto's hand guide my fingers down his side to his leg. I slid closer to the blonde as I brought his leg up to my shoulder and softly traced my fingers back up his thigh.

Naruto raised his body up slightly as I relocated my hand on his behind, cupping the muscles there as I lifted him up even higher. Naruto tightened his leg on my shoulder, holding himself up as I slid my hand along his body, noticing how his breathing was becoming hitched - as was mine. I quickly found his entrance and glanced up to the blonde, knowing that the uncertainty was obvious on my face.

"…don't…stop…" Naruto said, panting as he shifted his body closer to my hand. I couldn't help but chuckle at his impatience, but I obliged. I kept my eyes locked on Naruto's as I slid one finger into him. I nearly stopped when I felt how _tight_ he was. It would be impossible to fit myself into him without seriously injuring Naruto. And that was the last thing I wanted to do.

I started to pull my finger back out, but stopped when I felt Naruto's fingers wrap around my wrist, holding my hand perfectly still. I studied his face and could see that there wasn't any doubt in his eyes. "…I…don't want to…hurt you…"

"…I knew it was going to hurt…but…I want it to…be you…" Naruto whispered softly, pulling our hands closer to his body. I felt his body contract around my finger, loosening after a moment. A crease formed in my forehead as I tried to think of making this more comfortable for him. But Temari's books never went on in detail about how to make things better for someone's first time - they just said 'when he felt ready.' I had no idea what that could mean, short of the blonde telling me to stop or to fuck him or that he came. I turned my head to the side, kissing the blonde's inner thigh as I started sliding my finger back and forth, noticing how the motion became easier after a little while.

I glanced up at Naruto, seeing the blonde bite his lip when I pulled my finger out of him to replace it with two. I slowly slid into him, stopping every time I saw the smaller shinobi wince. I continued pushing into and pulling out of him, stretching the tight muscles, until those grimaces left his face entirely. I smirked when I saw Naruto starting to get impatient with my preparations. I took a shaky breath as I pulled Naruto closer to me, pressing my member against his entrance as I waited for his reaction.

"…baka…don't stop or…I'll kick your…ass…" Naruto stated, squeaking when I complied with his request and started sliding into him. Immediately, I was met with resistance and tried to be gentle, but I could see the winces I had witnessed earlier were nothing compared the pain-filled gasps coming from the blonde. I carefully rocked back and forth, each time pushing deeper into Naruto until I saw the pain leave his face, replaced by ecstasy. I slowly sped up my pace, biting my lip to stop myself from crying out as I completely sheathed my erection in him, his walls tightening around me to the point, it was painful for the both of us. I pushed against that spot a second time, smirking at the response I got. "…aaah…Ga-Gaara…harder…"

With his breathless request, I felt my resolve shatter. I pulled myself back, slamming into him and receiving a scream from the blonde. It was a mixture of pain and pleasure, which was enough incentive for me to continue, speeding up my pace as I felt the pressure in my lower body increase to an all new level. With every thrust, I found myself becoming louder in my moans, matching Naruto in volume as I watched the blonde bring a hand to touch his own throbbing erection. "Na-naru..to…" I gasped for air, feeling my last shred of sanity fall off that proverbial cliff.

My rhythm quickly became irregular as I fought for air, wondering if this was the same feeling running through Naruto. I felt a new warmth - a necessity - run through me as I felt my lower body explode in a tumult of sensations. "NARUTO!" I screamed out as I thrust into Naruto a few more times to ride out the mind-blowing orgasm. At the same time, I felt a warmth coat my abdomen and heard the blonde cry out.

"…sugoi…" Naruto stated breathlessly as I collapsed into his open arms, no longer able to hold myself up. I laid there, panting as the blonde ran his fingers through my sweat-soaked hair. I smiled into his chest, licking the sweat off his skin as I brought a hand up to touch his beautiful face. For the first time in my life, I felt more than content with my existence.

(Kanky's POV)

"NARUTO!"

I, literally, flew out of my bed at the scream. From the voice, I knew it was Gaara, so I immediately raced towards his room, meeting a flustered Temari halfway there. By the time I reached his bedroom door, I froze, the meaning behind his scream actually hitting me.

I turned to look at Temari, who had a demanding expression on her face. She wanted an explanation as to why we were standing outside our brother's room when we both had been woken from a sound sleep with his screaming. "…Naruto…"

"…you…don't think…Gaara…" Temari whispered, looking at the door with a perverted smirk. I couldn't help but share her emotions. It was about time our little brother started acting like a normal teenager.

"…who would have thought Gaara was a screamer…even in his sleep…"

TBC

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Tina-chan: Wow. -major nosebleed- Lets have some applause for Jessie-chan, shall we? 

Please Review. Jessie-chan and Tina-chan need feedback!


	2. Chapter 2

Hehe... sorry it took us so long to get this out. Mostly my fault, i've had this for about a week and kept forgetting to post it. sweatdrops sheepishly

Disclaimer: Naruto (c) Belongs to Kishimoto Masahi. And all mind blowing lemons belong to Kanemoshi.

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Naruto POV

I tried to sleep, I really did, but the knowledge that Gaara was here, in a hotel close by, had me tossing and turning in my bed. With a frustrated growl I kicked off the covers and decided to go for a walk. I quickly changed into regular pants and a t-shirt with a spiral, and fluidly leapt from my window to the ground below. I walked down the deserted street, my hands in my pockets and staring at the stars above, twinkling in the black sky. I was so absorbed in my thoughts I almost didn't see a familiar figure pass by, swallowed by the darkness. I ran quickly to catch up with him.

"Oi! Shikamaru!"

The kage-nin paused and turned around, recognition flashing in his eyes. I could almost hear the muttered 'mendokusee' as he sighed, probably not wanting to be disturbed.

"…Why are you out so late, Naruto?"

"I could ask you the same thing, lazy ass. Anyway, I couldn't sleep. You?"

I could see him debate whether it was too troublesome to tell me or not. Eventually he seemed to give in.

"I couldn't sleep either."

His voice sounded exasperated, as if he was worrying about something that confused him. I wonder…

"Hey, did you know that Fuzzy Eyebrows has a crush on Choji? He told me about it today!"

I noticed that Shikamaru's shoulders tensed up, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Enough for me to know that he did know… and that it bothered him.

"Oh, so Choji told you? Since when have you two been so close?"

I can definitely sense some jealously here. It's almost blatantly obvious…

"Anou, we just started talking and found we have a lot in common. Don't worry, Choji told me he's not interested in Fuzzy Eyebrows."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"He told you that?"

"Hai. No need to be jealous, right?"

"…Jealous of what?"

Hmm, am I dreaming or is Shikamaru in… denial?

"Shikamaru, what do you think of Choji?"

* * *

(Shikamaru's POV) 

"Shikamaru, what do you think of Choji?"

If I had been one for letting my emotions control me, I probably would have either: one, blushed furiously, two, blushed furiously while trying to hide the fact I was blushing, or three, admitted to the blonde what I truly felt for my best friend while (of course) blushing. But, since I was usually calm and collected, I simply raised an eyebrow and ignored the fact my face felt like an inflamed tomato (and I'm sure that, even in this dim lighting, Naruto could see my red cheeks) before taking a deep breath. I let out the air, unconsciously muttering 'mendokusee' under my breath before looking the blonde in the eyes. "He's my best friend."

"That doesn't answer my question," Naruto pointed out. I inwardly twitched. For the first time since I met Naruto, it appeared that the idiot had some brains - either that, or he was just as stubborn as Ino when it came to this kind of thing. Troublesome, stubborn, overbearing, nosy blondes. Thinking about it, the Hokage also fit those specifics. Just my luck that I knew all three and dealt with them almost daily. For a moment, I counted my blessings - I could have had that dream about Ino…or Naruto. The idea of Ino…it just made me tremble in fear…Naruto, though, he wasn't too bad. He was good looking…actually, he was pretty, but I would never admit it even under pain of death. I was someone who firmly believed that if your…interest had an IQ three points lower than the ramen that his body lived off of, there was something wrong with the relationship.

But, then again, Naruto had his redeeming qualities. There weren't many, but they were enough to get me to respect - even like - the blonde. He was strong, fiercely loyal, caring, friendly, helpful…everything someone looked for in a good friend. It was no wonder he obviously hit it off so well with Choji. They were so much alike. That thought, though, made my stomach tighten slightly. Choji had told Naruto about the whole Lee thing, but he had yet to really talk to me about anything. It was more than betrayal if you don't tell your best friends things like this…even though he knew I would probably just ignore him or tell him it was all too troublesome. I actually liked talking with Choji, and other people, about their problems. It not only gave me a chance to better understand them, it also let me see the other sides of them.

"…I think he's a great shinobi," I replied calmly, praying that Naruto wouldn't notice the slight quiver in my voice. Choji was more than a wonderful shinobi, he was…Choji. I didn't know how else to describe it. To me, his name itself was self explanatory. He was fun to be around, helpful, gentle, humorous, quick-witted, a good listener and an even better conversationalist. He could actually challenge me in debates and games, despite my intelligence. He could catch me off guard and make me seriously consider things that I otherwise would have ignored. Choji was the only person I knew who was anything but bothersome.

I didn't realize it until it was too late, but I had let a smile cross my features as I thought about my best friend. I quickly rid myself of the happy expression, but not before Naruto caught it. The blonde chuckled and, for a moment, I thought I saw…understanding flicker in his blue eyes.

Shimatta…mendokusee…

* * *

Naruto (POV)

I watched, somewhat amused, as a couple of emotions flittered in Shikamaru's eyes as he tried to formulate a response to my question. A small smile lit up his features, and I could tell it was because he was thinking of Chouji. I chuckled as he quickly wiped it off his face, and looked at him understandingly.

'He's probably nervous 'cuz this is all new to him. Being in love… and with his best male friend no less.'

"You do know that I want an answer, right Nara?"

He turned to head to the side and mumbled so low that I could barely hear him

"…It's none of your business."

Grr, Shikamaru can be really exasperating when he wants to. Time for more interrogation…

"You like him, don't you? Why's it so hard to admit it? If it's because he's a guy, I don't know why you're worrying. I mean, look at Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei. They're good for each other, even if they're both male."

I didn't tell him about the other person I knew about who was in a similar situation to himself…. If word leaked out, I'd have little bugs tormenting me in my sleep. I hate creepy crawly things…. Shikamaru eyed me wearily.

"You don't seem to be bothered by this stuff at all. Gotten over Sakura?"

"Definitely."

"About time, baka."

"Hey!"

I had to admit that was insulting. Sure it took me a while, but I got over it, didn't I?

"So who's the new guy?"

I was thankful that the dark hid my blush.

"Sabaku no Gaara."

"…The guy that destroyed Lee in the exams and was plotting against the village, and is now the Kazekage?"

I was seething. He didn't have to put it like that!

"…Shut up! Anyway, this is off the point. What are you going to do about Chouji?"

I could almost see three little dots appear above Shikamaru's head as he thought about it.

* * *

Shikamaru's POV

I thought about it for a moment. What was I going to do about Chouji? I wasn't exactly sure on my course of action, but I knew one thing for certain. Whatever I did, it would have nothing to do with telling my best friend about my…interesting experience while thinking about him. Like my father said, it's normal for teenagers to feel like this. For once, I actually wanted to believe my old man, but just couldn't. All the times he told me that he married my mother for certain reasons, I merely raised an eyebrow and ignored that reason (that would have probably gotten me to twitch if he had gone into any detail whatsoever), but this was the first time I had ever actually wanted to listen and accept what the old pervert said. It isn't normal to feel like this about your best friend…even Naruto feels things for someone else other than his best friend…but, then again, who the hell would willingly fall in love with Sasuke? It took me a moment to understand my own thoughts. …fall…in love?

Somehow, I got the feeling Naruto had an idea what I was thinking about because I could see a sympathetic expression on his face. Iie…I'm not falling in love with Chouji…he is my best friend and nothing more…I'm just feeling like this because I'm not in any kind of physical relationship with someone else and my hormones are getting to me…

I forced myself to keep my eyes locked over Naruto's left shoulder so that I wouldn't have to see the blonde's face as he chuckled softly. For a moment, I understood why Sakura – and everyone else for that matter – were always beating him for something…he was so annoying. And he wasn't even doing anything! Just his knowing presence was enough for me to bite my inner cheek in attempts to not yell at him.

I am not in love with Chouji…I'm not…I repeated this mantra to myself, but found it impossible to start believing it after I saw the understanding in Naruto's face. If someone as simple as Naruto could see my feelings that clearly, then there was no way that I could force myself to believe a blatant lie.

I thought about it for a moment, weighing out the choices in my head, but I couldn't deny the one thing that got my heart to speed up without any logical reason. All logic cast aside, it made perfect sense, but I was someone whose IQ was off the scales – who always thought things through and could forsee every outcome possible and, by thinking things over for a moment, could plan a strategy that is close to (if not already) perfection. But this wasn't a game or a battle. There were no rules or laws involved. Not even the most common bits of sense applied to it. For the first time in my short life, I found myself getting a migrane from the mere thought of something that was so far from my comprehension. This was the same thing that made me take a shaky breath as I finally admitted the truth to my genius self.

Shimatta…I'm falling in love with Chouji…

* * *

Naruto POV

Aha, the usual plethora of facial expressions. Not to sound sadistic or anything, but it's pretty funny seeing Shikamaru, the genius with a 200+ IQ, so confused over something so easy to understand. Yep, just the fact that he was confused was a dead giveaway; he liked Chouji. I smiled happily to myself as Shikamaru took a shaky breath, and his expression suddenly settled. About time.

"Finally figure it out, genius?"

How I love annoying people and seeing their expressions of pure annoyance as they try to refrain from yelling at me, beating me up, or just giving up and doing both.

"…Hai. Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"…Arigato."

I merely gave him a thumbs up and a cheeky smile.

"No prob. See ya around."

He nodded in acknowledgement and walked back into the swallowing darkness, hands in pockets. Satisfied with the outcome of the conversation, I started to wander around again, not quite ready for sleep. God, why was I so restless? Damn Gaara, you affect me so much…even when you're not around. I suddenly stopped and stared at the sky. Does loneliness really create this kind of connection? Like you want to heal something else, to help cure your own pain as well as theirs. I let out a short laugh as I looked at my hands; Yeah, I loved him, but… it's not like he loves me back.

* * *

(Gaara's POV)

I inwardly cursed the cold breeze that blew past me, as though the air itself knew that I was wearing the thin clothing that was common in Suna - and that I wasn't accustomed to such cold weather. I wrapped my arms around my body, remembering how it used to be...before I lost Shukaku. Back then, I felt no pain...no cold, heat...nothing. Ever since my demon was taken from me, I found myself more and more subjected to what everyone else considered _normal_.

Cold was just the most annoying thing I had yet to learn about. The heat was something I could stand. Having grown up in a desert my whole life, it was natural for my body to involuntarily adapt to the hot temperature. I visibly shivered as I slowly began rubbing my cold hands against my equally cool arms in attempts to regain some feeling in my limbs.

I turned a corner of Konoha's empty streets and found myself staring at a pair of shinobi who hadn't noticed my presence. Before they saw me, I slid back around the corner and listened to their conversation – or what sounded to be the end of it.

"Finally figure it out, genius?"

"…Hai. Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"…Arigato."

I couldn't see their faces, but I got the sinking feeling that whatever they were talking about was something important. I could hear the seriousness hidden underneath Naruto's usual joking tone and, for some reason, it caused a painful twinge in my chest to hear his voice.

I inwardly sighed when I heard the shuffling of footsteps. It was too heavy to be Naruto's, so I assumed that it was the Nara walking in the direction opposite my hiding spot. I was about to step out and make the blonde aware of my presence, but I froze when I heard his light steps walking towards me.

I knew he couldn't see me in the dark corner I was hiding in, but he still stopped mere inches away from me. He was so close, I could clearly make out the ragged edges of the dark marks stretching across his cheeks. I studied the blonde's beautiful face, knowing if my gaze lowered any, I would probably have the images of last night's dream stuck in my head for the next few hours.

_Dreams_. The thought of something so…realistic and incredible being a product of a person's subconscious still amazed me. I never dreamed when Shukaku was still inside me – even when I did get a few seconds of sleep every now and again – but now that he was gone, I had dreams on the nights I could find solace in slumber. I still slept for short amounts of time and usually skipped most nights of sleep, but when I did sleep, my dreams were mostly replays of all the atrocities I had committed or my damned childhood. Lately, though, those nightmarish dreams had begun to become less and less frequent, being replaced by the erotic dreams that, like tonight, left me unable to even lay down without wondering what my dreams may bring.

I was pulled from my musings when I saw Naruto tilt his head upwards, his impossibly blue eyes transfixed on the darkened sky. I found myself unable to breathe as I watched his face reflect the emotion I knew best. _Pain._ I bit my lip as the pain reflecting in his eyes bled into sorrow and defeat. I tightened my hands into fists, wondering what the Nara could have possibly said to upset Naruto so much.

Whatever it was, I would assuredly make the pineapple-head pay dearly for hurting my blonde. With that thought of revenge in mind, I loosened my fists and waited until Naruto had continued walking and was far gone before I came out of my hiding spot and went in search of my brother.

_He would know what to do...  
_

* * *

(Kanky's POV)

Yawning softly, I stretched across the large couch - one of the many pieces of comfortable furniture in the room. I had tried each chair, loveseat, and cushion out in attempts to find the perfect seat and finally decided on the overstuffed purple and red striped couch. With a sigh, I closed my eyes and remembered why exactly I was in this massive room all by myself.

I had been walking back to my hotel room, trying my hardest to keep from being seen or noticed, just in case Temari was still looking for me. She had wanted to go shopping _again_. I decided that I would rather be castrated by a hot, blunt poker than go back to any store with her, so I ran. Before I could reach the sanctuary of my room, though, I ran into one of Tsunade's underlings - Shizune was her name, I think - and the annoying woman dragged me to this isolated room in the Hokage's Tower's basement without even so much as an explanation. Well, at least she had comfy furniture for me to lounge on as I waited. Waited for _what_ exactly, I wasn't sure. All Shizune said was to 'wait here.'

It was like some kind of covert operation. I didn't get much of a chance anymore to go on missions since I was so busy. Ever since Gaara became Kazekage, I had become his most trusted advisor. Not only that, but I somehow became a diplomat who was continuously forced to settle scuffles between Suna's clans. Temari was the diplomat who was sent to other Hidden Villages. Probably because she would scare our own people if she was their mediator…at least at the other villages, she would be judged (and respected) for her abilities and strength.

Since I was the least intimidating of the three of us, I got stuck with resolving blood feuds or debates over land and money. Not that I minded, though. It always gave me a chance to prove my own intelligence instead of just being seen as the Kazekage's brother. People respected me because they knew I was fair and equal in my compromises that were (not to be conceited) brilliant ideas. They also knew that I was a normal teen. I could take a joke - and even give as good as I got - like any other person. People didn't dare play pranks on either of my siblings in fear of their immediate death.

"Gomen, Kankuro-san…I didn't mean to make you wait so long…" I raised an eyebrow as I shifted my head in the general direction of that female voice. I found myself captivated by the most massive chest I had ever seen. Even Temari paled in comparison.

"Hokage-sama…" I had to remind myself not to stare at the chest that defied physics and all things natural as I forced a polite greeting. "It's good to see you again." _And I believe your chest has grown quite a bit since my last visit…_I had to add silently to myself as I slid into a sitting position, then turned enough so that I could look at the woman who was walking towards me, a knowing smile on her face. _Shimatta…did I say that aloud? _I wondered as I studied the woman sitting down in a large chair a few feet to my right.

"Let's cut the small-talk, Kankuro…do you know what has been going on under our noses?" Tsunade folded her hands across her lap as she stared at me, waiting for an answer. I simply frowned, unsure of exactly what she was talking about. Tsunade let out an exasperated sigh when she saw my confusion. "Your brother and Naruto…"

_Oh…_that_…_ I chuckled to myself when I saw the smirk coming to Tsunade's face. "…I was aware of it…" I replied, keeping my voice even so that the woman wouldn't' be able to tell if I accepted or condemned the relationship. I didn't want to get on her bad side while in a very, very remote room in her basement. Especially since the way down was maze-like. She was enough like Temari that I might never see the light of day again. But, then again, my sister was a Yaoi-fanatic…maybe I'd be lucky enough to find my sister's kindred spirit in this overly-busty woman.

"I'm not going to forbid such a relationship, Kankuro…but I don't want Naruto hurt…especially by someone who he-"

"Loves…I actually overheard him admitting it to one of his friends…and Gaara's been acting strange lately…so I know the feeling is mutual…" I replied, noticing the relieved smile that came to Tsunade's face at that comment. I knew that if my brother fell in love with someone and that feeling wasn't returned, I would have been just as worried - and relieved to hear that it wasn't a one-sided relationship. "Now, I'm going to ask you something…what the hell am I doing down here?"

"I had to make sure no one overheard us…not even my own shinobi…" Tsunade said calmly, standing up enough so that she could pull her chair closer to me. That fear of never seeing the light of day started to come back in full force when I saw a new (and very frightening) smile come to her face. For a moment, I wondered if this was how people felt when I smiled in that devious way. If so, I resolved never to smirk like that again. "I want to make sure that _no one_ interferes in this relationship…but…I think they do need a little…_push_, if you get my meaning…"

"…what do you want me to do?" I asked, keeping my face emotionless when all I wanted to do was mirror Tsunade's smirk as I agreed whole-heartedly with her. There was no way Gaara would admit his feelings…and Naruto…no offense to the kid, but he was just stupid enough to not see that my brother was beyond infatuated with him. Why Gaara fell in love with Naruto of all people was beyond me, but I wasn't going to debate the workings of love. _Look at who I fell for…_I thought to myself, inwardly wincing slightly when a mental image of the object of my affections came to mind.

_He'll never feel the same way…would you, Neji?_

* * *

(still Kanky's POV)

I flopped down on my couch. I named it mine since I was usually the only sibling who had enough free time to do absolutely nothing - also known as lounging across the comfortable piece of furniture as I thought over Tsunade's plot to get my brother and the next Hokage together.

It was an easy enough plan - give them every possible opportunity to express their feelings, plus a few romantic moments and such. It was pretty much the same idea Temari had in her head when I informed her about our brother's crush, but I had adamantly disagreed with her proposal then. Tsunade, on the other hand, scared me into agreeing to help anyway possible. Her only condition was that I could say nothing to anyone about our deal - not even Temari.

It wasn't that bad of an idea, but I highly doubted that my brother would confess his love for the blonde idiot if given multiple chances in dreamy settings. Hell, short of actual torture and certain death, I'm sure Gaara would never say anything to Naruto about his feelings. And Naruto, Tsunade informed me, was about as emotional as a rock when it came to something like this. He could feel love and caring for people, but he was afraid of being hurt. That paranoia was so bad that Tsunade feared Naruto would keep to himself if he wasn't absolutely sure he wouldn't be rejected.

"Where have you been?" Gaara's voice filtered into the room, his angry tone making warning bells go off in my head as I flew off the couch in surprise. I landed on the floor and quickly stood back up before my brother could see my embarrassing reaction. Quite frankly, the little brat just scared me shitless. I didn't hear him come in and I was pretty sure no one else was in the apartment. It was nearing midnight and both of my siblings were missing. If I didn't already know my brother was an insomniac who liked to roam during the night and that my sister…well…I didn't have to worry about her safety…I would have been quite concerned. As things were, though, it just made me relax more to know I was the only one around. I turned around and saw my brother leaning against the doorframe that led to the kitchen. From the annoyance on his face, he had been in the apartment for some time…and was waiting for me.

"G-Gaara…it's late…I-I think I'm going to bed…" I could see the glimmer in his sea-green eyes. That look usually meant someone's death a few years ago. I hadn't seen that particular expression lately, so I had no reason to worry. But now? I was absolutely terrified that his anger was going to be shifted to me…unless I was the cause of his bad mood.

"What's the best way to kill someone?" Gaara asked, his voice completely even. It was as though I was still staring at the twelve-year old who had even Temari trembling in fear. Gaara hadn't killed anyone for revenge for so many years…it wasn't in his nature anymore. I studied him for a moment, noticing that, even though his face was impassive, his body was shaking slightly.

"What happened?" I said curiously, daringly taking a step towards him. As I closed the distance between us, I could see that the murderous glimmer in his eyes wasn't as harsh as it used to be. That, and there was something else in his large eyes - something that I had only seen in other people's eyes. People who had something to lose and were willing to protect it at all costs. Immediately, I thought that something happened to Naruto, but banished the thought away since Tsunade would have informed me when I was talking to her a few minutes ago.

"Someone hurt…" Gaara's expression became thoughtful, as though he was trying to find a word to describe his crush. "a friend of mine…I wish to get revenge…" I had to stop myself from smiling when I heard the hint of love and caring that Gaara's tone held as he spoke.

"What did this person do?" I asked, trying to sound like I was completely clueless as to who Gaara's 'friend' was. It was the first time I found lying hard. With a sigh, I placed my hand on Gaara's shoulder and gave my brother a small smile.

"It doesn't matter…" Gaara retorted stubbornly as he tried shrugging my hand off of him, but I just tightened my grip. "Let go of me…" Gaara's voice became frighteningly deep and I couldn't help but shiver slightly at the sound. Every other time I heard _this_ voice, someone died. Usually in a terrible, painful way as well.

"Maybe you should go talk to this friend of yours to see what you should do…" I suggested, trying my hardest not to tremble from hearing that voice. My brother was far more frightening than anyone else to exist…even the members of Akatsuki. At least those people had reasons (albeit terrible reasons) to kill. Gaara saw murder as an answer to many things - usually things that would have resulted in only a punch or two by someone else. It wasn't as bad as it used to be, but I still feared what my brother _could_ do if he wanted.

Gaara didn't say anything, but from the pensive look he gave me, I knew his momentary thoughts of murdering his older brother had passed. I inwardly sighed in relief as I let go of his shoulder and watched my brother leave the apartment without saying another word to me.

"Shimatta…" I sighed as I plopped back down on my couch and buried my head in my hands as I thought about what tomorrow might bring…either a very questionable 'accident' or a moody (or very happy) younger brother. I just prayed that it would be the one that wouldn't leave me fearing for my life.

* * *

(Gaara's POV)

_Knock, knock!_

My knocking was met with silence…for the fifth time. I inwardly let out a sigh as I turned to leave. Apparently the blonde was either not home or could sleep through Armageddon. I had already woken up every other person in the apartment complex with my pounding…but the blonde had yet to come to the door.

I had already tried opening the door, surprised to find it locked. I always put Naruto as one of those people who wouldn't ever lock his door - whether or not he was home. I turned around to leave, but froze when I heard a pounding come from inside the morgue-like apartment. I spun back around in just enough time to see the shabby door fly open, revealing a very tired…and very shirtless blonde.

For a moment, I couldn't pull my eyes away from the cap lopsidedly resting on the blonde locks as I tried figuring out what the hell kind of animal it was supposed to be. Whatever it was, it was a frightening depiction. Taking a deep breath, I lowered my gaze enough so I could see Naruto rubbing his eyes as he yawned.

"G-Gaa? What are you doin' 'ere?" Naruto yawned again, pulling his hands away from his face as he slumped against the doorframe, his blue eyes looking at me tiredly. I couldn't help but feel slightly bad at waking up the obviously exhausted shinobi. But, then again, since I already woke him up, there was no reason that my plan couldn't be put into play.

"…Take a walk with me…" I stated, inwardly wincing at how demanding I had sounded. Naruto simply raised an eyebrow, then looked down at his chest. I could see the blush coming to his face as he backed up a few steps, then shot back into the house, slamming the door in my face.

* * *

Naruto's POV

"…Take a walk with me…"

I raised an eyebrow at this request. I had finally gotten to sleep after I talked with Shikamaru, and now Gaara of all people had woken me up. Who takes a walk at 1:30 in the morning? A breeze blew across my bare torso and I was suddenly painfully aware of my shirtless condition. I was shirtless…in front of my crush. I felt my cheeks flush and immediately shot back through the door, slamming it shut.

"Kuso…"

Okay, deep breath and calm down. Gaara just showed up at your door and wants to take a walk. You totally spazzed out because you realized you were practically half naked in front of him.

Oh fuck. Why am I talking in third person?

I just slammed the door in his face…How rude! What if he hates me now? What if he thinks _I_ hate him? No, he can't think that I hate him! Because, because…. I don't. I immediately went back to the door and wretched it open, coming face to face with the sand shinobi. I thought I saw a look of hurt that was immediately replaced by confusion.

"Naruto….?"

"Gomen, Gaara… sure I'll go on a walk with you. I'm just gonna get dressed first, okay?"

I then realized it would be really bad manners to leave him standing in the dark and cold while I changed, so I invited him inside. He came in hesitantly, as if he didn't quite know what to do. I directed him to a chair and went to my room to change. For some reason, I decided not to wear my usual orange outfit. Instead I picked out a pair of jeans and put on a white wife beater, covering it with a blue jacket that had two orange stripes running down the sleeves. Deciding that I looked decent, I went back into the room where Gaara was still sitting.

"Okay, I'm ready."

He nodded and stood up. I noticed that he seemed to look at me. Did he notice I was wearing something new? Who knows….

"…Lets go."

I nodded in return and followed him out the door, remembering to lock the door behind me. So… back to the question of why Gaara would want to take a walk this early in the morning. I know that he's an insomniac, but why would he want me to be with him? Could it be that… no, he probably wanted me because we're similar to each other. Did he want to confide in me? Gah, I just don't know…

We walked in silence for a while. Gaara looked like he was contemplating something, and I didn't want to interrupt his thoughts.

"Naruto…"

I looked up at him. The red head was staring at me intently.

"Why are you… in pain?"

I froze where I was. What was Gaara talking about…? He seemed to notice my confusion.

"…Earlier, you were talking to the Nara boy, and I noticed that you looked upset afterwards. I couldn't hear what you were talking about…what did he say to you?"

I swallowed nervously. Gaara had been there? Why didn't I notice?

"I… I was just talking to him about… he has a crush on someone and I was encouraging him to do something about it. His crush is a friend of mine, so I think it would be really great if they could get together."

"Then why did you look upset afterwards?"

How could I answer that question? Say, 'well actually I was upset because I really like you but know you'll probably never like me back.'? Nope. I couldn't face the rejection… not from him. I'd faced rejection before…

'_You had nothing in the first place!'_

'_I will break that bond!'_

'_I'm going to Orochimaru.'_

Shit, why did _he_ have to come to mind at a time like this…? The one who broke my first bond… If I have to go through pain like that again, then I don't think it's worth it to forge another one. But… maybe loneliness hurts more than pain. Maybe that's why I wanted to help Choji, because his loneliness reminded me of my own. Pain… I suddenly felt a hand grasp my shoulder.

"…What's wrong?"

"Gaara…"

I don't know what I was thinking. The pain in my chest just became too much… I reached my arms around him, grabbed on for support, and felt tears running down my face. I was afraid. As much as rejection hurt, loneliness was even worse.

"Gaara… when I'm lonely, I'm in pain."

* * *

(Gaara's POV)

"Gaara…when I'm lonely, I'm in pain…"

I didn't get the chance to register that the most beautiful creature in existence was currently holding me as though I was the only thing that could keep him here. I didn't even think about how it felt to have his deliciously warm body against my cold flesh or how his form just seemed to melt against my own, his arms wrapping around my neck and fingers twining into my already disheveled hair. Not even the conscious thought of returning the embrace came to mind as I enveloped him in my arms, tightening my grasp on him in a nonverbal way of reassuring the blonde.

At that moment, all I could think about was making sure that Naruto would never feel that lonely pain again. I knew that feeling too well…but the thought of someone else having the same emotion never crossed my mind. Now, knowing that I wasn't the only one, I realized that I would do anything in my power to end Naruto's loneliness.

Without even thinking if the sobbing teen in my arms would rebuff me, I tighened my arms around him as I buried my head into his hair, noticing immediately that my nuzzling was calming the blonde down some. After another few moments of my tender embrace, Naruto's sobbing had dulled to soft hiccups. His shaking body had stilled, which left it possible for me to feel his heart rapidly beating against my chest. For a moment, I wondered if he could feel my irregular heartbeat as well.

"…" I opened my mouth, but wasn't exactly sure what I _could_ say to the blonde in my arms. Even if I could have thought up of some kind of excuse that would actually sound believable, I would have been unable to lie to the boy. Which left me with no other option than speaking the truth; what I was feeling. For the first time in my life, I was afraid to speak my mind.

"Gaara…?" Those blue eyes captured me as I looked down at the obviously confused blonde. I couldn't stop myself (even if I had wanted to) from tightening my arms around the boy. Instinctively, I bent slightly and pulled Naruto against my chest, lifting him up just enough that only the tips of his toes were still resting on the ground. For a moment, from the glimmer of annoyance in those azure orbs, I was sure Naruto was mad at me for doing so, but then I caught the blush and accompanying smile on his beautiful face. It wasn't until that moment, with Naruto in my arms, that I realized that, not only was Naruto noticeably shorter than me, but that he was also smaller in every other physical way. Underneath the thin material he had changed into, I could feel the teen's defined muscles. They were, in no way, bulky; they were sculpted to perfection, fitting the small blonde's frame in such a way, I quickly became addicted to the sensation of those powerful muscles unintentionally brushing against my chilled body.

Only for a moment did I deny myself the one thing I had dreamed about for so long…and almost as quickly as what little conscience I possessed flitted away, I ran my fingers down his back, tracing the boy's spinal cord and the muscles running parallel to the bones. As my hand ventured lower down his back, I felt Naruto tremble slightly as he audibly gasped.

I couldn't help but smirk proudly when Naruto reacted to my ministrations. He hadn't pushed me away yet in disgust or fear – which was a nonverbal agreement in my mind. My heart elevated with that realization; Naruto had yet to reject me, even though I had clearly shown my emotions towards the boy. Perhaps it wasn't as obvious as a spoken display, but I knew that I was already incapable of speech – I lost that ability when Naruto shifted in my arms, pressing his body into my hands as his own fingers wove themselves into my hair and his eyes again met mine. There was something in those eyes that I just knew to be acceptance, mixed with something else that I couldn't quite place.

Whatever it was in his eyes, though, got me to forget breathing momentarily as I removed one of my hands from his back in order to touch his face. I traced my fingertips along the whisker marks on his cheeks, fascinated with how soft and warm his skin was. His eyes closed as my fingers danced across his lips, memorizing the feeling of his warm breath on my hand.

For the first time in my life, I felt the one thing that had always eluded me – complete and total love. I knew what it was as soon as those beautiful eyes fluttered open and Naruto smiled at me. I took a shaky breath before cupping his round cheek and brushing my thumb against his delicate cheekbone. "…c-can I…" I felt my face warm slightly at the thought of what I was saying – or at least _trying_ to say. I took another deep breath, forcing myself to voice my request, "…k-kiss…y-you…"

* * *

Naruto POV

I always thought that I'd be alone. Not completely alone- I still had Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and most of the rookie nine that I could turn to if I ever got in trouble or needed someone to talk to. It was the alone of not having someone who loved only me, someone that I could come home to and know that I had a truly precious person in the world. I had my friends, but at the end of the day I always came back to a lonely apartment. I never thought that someone would comfort me when I cried, or touch me like this. I never thought that anyone would look at me with something like that in his eyes. I never dreamed that the person I cared about so much, the person I loved, would ask me if he could…

"Yes."

How could I refuse a request like that? Right now Gaara's so… cute. I had no idea he stuttered when nervous. He was still cupping my face, and (no matter how corny it sounds) my heart started to beat faster as his face came closer to my own. Wow, this is just like something from a cheesy shojo manga… not that I'm complaining.

* * *

(Gaara's POV)

Hearing that single word, spoken with all the warmth a monster like me had never known, forced all logical thought out of my head. Even the word's meaning was lost to me for a moment as I stared into those beautiful blue orbs. They held nothing to betray the fact I was intimately embracing the infamous Kyuubi no Kitsune's container; there was no hatred, no pain…only an amount of love and caring so great, I couldn't even think of a word to describe it, besides "beautiful…" I could feel Naruto's face warm up at the comment, which made me realize that I had, at some point during my musings on these new emotions, moved my face so close to his, our noses were just barely touching.

The realization of that small bit of contact made my lower body tighten in…something. This wasn't like my dreams at all…no, this was far better. I decided that as I dropped my head enough to caress those perfect lips with mine. The first thing I realized as soon as the tingling shock left me was that Naruto's lips were almost impossibly soft and warm, flavored with a hint of his beloved ramen.

It was addictive to the point I found myself repeating my actions before Naruto even had a chance to respond. It didn't take him long to react, however. Within seconds of brushing my lips against his, the blonde's body tensed slightly, his fingers tightening in my hair to the point I had to pull my head back to stop him from pulling out my hair.

_Did I do something wrong?_ I wondered as I immediately focused on those beautiful azure orbs that were wide in wonder…and something else besides his earlier warmth. For the first time, I understood what Temari's novels had described as a 'pit in the bottom of my stomach.' My mouth, drying unbelievably quickly, unconsciously opened and closed as I took in a deep gulp of cool air. My gaze remained fixed on his large eyes, trying to describe the unusual emotion in them. When it finally hit me, that proverbial pit became a gaping cavern. _Uncertainty_? I had never seen such an emotion on Naruto's face before, so it was understandably unfamiliar. That thought didn't help the coldness that was starting to creep into my body as I quickly let go of him, my head lowering in shame. He had said 'yes,' but there was something I had done to make him want to stop…

"Gomen…" I said softly, my statement coming out as barely a whisper. If it was even possible, Naruto's eyes widened even more as I forced myself to look up at him. At some point, his cheeks had become a deep crimson and the barest of smiles on his face. He looked so beautiful like that…I couldn't stop myself from staring.

"Do you love me, Gaara?" The wavering of his voice indicated anxiety, but I knew instantly that it wasn't a fear of me…or anything I had just done. If this was the cause of Naruto's uncertainty, I considered myself the luckiest bastard alive.

"Baka…" I stepped closer to the kitsune, hardly noticing the fact my lips had formed the barest of smiles. Naruto's face became an even deeper pink as I slowly brought up a hand to his neck, forcing the blonde to move closer to me as I dropped my head to look directly into his eyes. From the broad grin that erupted across his face, I was sure my words weren't lost in my subsequent kiss.

"More than anything…"

* * *

(still Gaara's POV)

For the first time in my life, I snuck into my room, praying that neither one of my siblings were around. Knowing my bad luck, I was half expecting both of them to be casually sitting on the couch in the living room, awaiting my return. I let out a thankful sigh when, upon cracking open the front door, I could see all the lights were off and that I couldn't sense their telltale chakra signals. I didn't even wonder where my siblings could be at this hour as I opened the door enough to let myself and the blonde inside. At the moment, there were only two things I cared about – being alone with the boy of my dreams (literally) and…well…what was going to happen between us if the perverse side of me had any say in tonight's activities.

"Sheesh, you think Tsunade would pay me a little more if she could afford to put you guys up in such a nice hotel for a couple weeks…stingy hag…" I almost let out a chuckle at Naruto's statement and following whistle as he looked around the spacious living room. It was true that Tsunade didn't stop at any expense when it came to my comfort during my stay in Konohagure, even going as far as reserving the entire top floor of the village's best hotel for us. Of course, I was sure Naruto didn't know how generous Tsunade had been…he would have been cursing a great deal more if he had.

"I _am_ the Kazekage," I reminded him, smirking when I turned around and saw the pout on his face that screamed 'I know that…I'm not stupid!' There was just something about the way Naruto constantly complained that made me laugh (not that I'd admit that I'd laugh at my blonde's odd quirks to anyone but him). I knew it wasn't because he was underpaid or otherwise being discriminated against (I'd kill someone if that was the reason), but because it was a part of who he was. That odd characteristic made me wonder what kind of childhood he had. I was hated enough by everyone in my own village, but I was never cast away or victimized like I knew Naruto had been. Just that thought made me want to protect the blonde for the rest of my life.

Before Naruto got a chance to close the door behind himself, I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly. Naruto was probably wondering what the hell got into me from the raised eyebrow I could see on his face. I tried to make up an excuse for my odd, clingy behavior as I slowly let go of him and turned around, gruffly mumbling, "You don't have to worry about pay…when you're Hokage…" Yeah, sad excuse, I know…but I was never good at hiding my emotions or lying when I was around the blonde. I didn't have to turn around to know that he was smiling – I could still hear his barely muffled snickers. I stopped for a moment, sensing that Naruto's eyes were on me. "Nani?"

"When I become Hokage…you'll be staying in the Hokage Tower with me," Naruto stated, his usually cheerful voice becoming dangerously seductive as I felt his hands snake around my middle. Shivering slightly, at either his words or his touch, I wasn't sure, I leaned back slightly into his arms, feeling the rising and falling of his muscular chest against my back. I was glad that I had decided to leave my precious gourd stashed away in my bedroom tonight…that, and that I was wearing thin clothing. Sometimes I had to thank Suna's wardrobes.

"Hmph…wouldn't people talk if the Kazekage and Hokage were residing in the same building?" I asked, a small part of me wondering what Naruto would call our budding relationship. If he would try hiding it from the prejudiced people of Konoha, I could understand. Most people never liked him to begin with. To hear that he had (unconsciously) seduced the Kazekage would probably make them far more uncomfortable than the mere fact that he was the Kyuubi no Kitsune's container.

"They can talk all they want…Ero-sennin would probably write an entire series dedicated to his new peeping opportunity…" I ignored the second half of Naruto's statement – I really didn't want to imagine the old man peeking in on us…it would just ruin my mood… The first half of his comment, however, got one of those rare, genuine smiles to come to my face. Since my back was to Naruto, I knew he couldn't see it, but he tightened his arms around me and rested his head on my shoulder all the same. "The villagers would just have to suck up and deal with it…we aren't doing anything wrong…and I'm not going to give you up just because they're assholes…"

He couldn't have possibly said anything more perfect at that moment. I gently traced my fingers along Naruto's arms, which were still tightly wrapped around my middle, in an unstated agreement. I would have probably voiced my opinion if it hadn't been for the fact that, as soon as I had started to open my mouth, Naruto's hands had begun drifting up to my chest. It was such an electrifying sensation; I hardly noticed that his lips were brushing against my neck. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from gasping as the blonde's tongue darted out and traced my throbbing jugular. I wasn't sure when my pulse had quickened, but I was sure it had something to do with the fact Naruto had me leaning flush against his body, simultaneously licking my exposed neck and tracing his fingers along my chest.

It was almost indescribable; the sensations of Naruto touching me so intimately as he traced out every inch of my neck with his talented tongue. I had to suck in another breath to stop myself from letting out a moan as his tongue hit a particularly sensitive spot on the back of my neck. From the blonde's immediate fascination with that spot, I was sure he noticed my reaction to his ministrations.

"W-wouldn't you rather…do th-this somewhere b-besides-_ahh_…i-in front of the door?" I managed to ask, surprising myself with the fact I had only slipped once in keeping my satisfied groans in check. I could feel Naruto's lips curve upwards as he stopped his actions – at some point he had started to gently bite down on my neck – maybe that was why I had moaned… I wasn't sure…all I knew for certain was that if Temari or Kankuro were to walk by the door right now – let alone come inside – I would never be able to live down such embarrassment. It was one thing for my siblings to have to wake me up out of a wet dream…it was another thing entirely to walk in on me moaning like some kind of animal in heat as Naruto attacked me. Of course, this attack wasn't one I was going to defend against…

"…heh…maybe you're right…" Naruto replied. I could hear the slight pant to his voice as he spoke. If his actions were doing something like this to _me_, I had a pretty good idea what he was feeling when I had started pressing up against him as I slowly lost grip on the ability to keep my pleasure-filled cries at bay. Of course, I had only realized what I was doing after Naruto had stopped those amazing actions with his tongue…and his hands. When had his hands dropped down to my lower abdomen…close enough that his fingers were already slipping underneath my waistband?!

Another question that kept slipping through my mind was how Naruto knew exactly how to touch me…I was pretty sure it wasn't experience, but if it was…his other love-interests were damn lucky people…or unlucky, since he was mine now and I'd never let them have him back… I knew I was possessive of my things, but I had never been too selfish when it concerned other people. Naruto, on the other hand, was different…he was perfection in every form of the word and I wasn't going to lose that without a fight.

"Do you usually talk to yourself?" Naruto asked. I blushed when I could hear the humor in his voice…which made me wonder what I had unconsciously said to him. His arms tightened around me as his head lifted to my ear and I could feel his warm breath against my ear. "I haven't had a good night's sleep in a while because of you…and you're _mine_…" The feral tone to Naruto's voice made me shiver. No one had ever spoken to me like that before…and to be claimed with such surety was arousing beyond comprehension, not to mention his comment on his disturbed sleeping patterns. I never imagined I would have such an effect on someone else, especially the blonde idiot I had fallen for.

My blush became a quite noticeable crimson as I heard the door behind us slam shut – Naruto, being his usual self, probably kicked it closed – and the blonde went back to slipping his hands underneath my loose-fitting pants as he licked my surprisingly responsive neck. Now that I was aware of the placement of his hands, I couldn't help but shiver as those warm limbs slid down my skin, nails gently trailing along the lines of muscle that V-ed down to a _particularly_ intimate area. Before I could gasp in surprise at Naruto's daring, the blonde stopped the southern journey of his venturous hands, satisfying himself with tracing along my abdomen.

Keeping my mind off the fact that Naruto's hands were sending electrifying shivers down to a certain area of my body, I thought about what exactly had gotten me into this interesting turn of events. I had gone out for a walk, woke Naruto up because I wanted to talk to him - it wasn't because I didn't want to be alone - then things started to follow my usual dreams. Of course, our roles were reversed in all of my dreams, but I wasn't going to argue with that skillful tongue slowly dipping below the neckline of my shirt to slowly trail back up my spine or those hands that were pulling me even closer to Naruto…and a _very_ noticeable hardness.

"Nna-" I couldn't even make out the blonde's name between my soft pants for air. Temari and Kankuro never explained how amazing something like this felt. Not even Temari's romance novels fully described the fierce beating of my heart as I turned around in Naruto's arms to look at the beautiful teen. Every other thought of sense and logic left me when I looked into his face. No, no words could explain that uplifting feeling I experienced at that moment.

"Gaara…I…if you want to…I mean…" Naruto started rambling - a quirk I had become accustomed to over the years - keeping his eyes trained on me, but I could clearly see the nervousness in his amazingly blue eyes. "Idreallylikeyoutomakelovetomeandbemyloverandlivewithmea-" I stopped the blonde's rant with a soft chuckle. It was amazing I could even understand anything the boy said, but then again, I've gotten used to his energetic statements. The few words I comprehended gave me a good enough idea of what Naruto was getting so nervous about and I couldn't stop myself from kissing those beautiful lips with such a passion, even Naruto couldn't be uncertain about my answer.

I slowly deepened the kiss as I brought my hands to Naruto's sides and pulled him closer to me as I licked every inch of his warm mouth. The blonde quickly returned my kiss, his almost inaudible moans sending shivers down my back and a noticeably protruding area of my body. _If Temari or Kankuro came in right now…_I mentally shook my head to get rid of the images of their faces - either smirking perversely or outright amazed. The possibility of them walking in on my blonde and me gave me a good reason to quickly break off our impassioned kiss and bend so that I could put one arm underneath Naruto's knees and lift the startled blonde into my arms.

"Put me down!" Naruto cried, but I could see the broad smile on his reddening face. As I started walking towards my bedroom, the blonde caught me by surprise as he wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled himself closer to me in order to gently kiss my neck. I almost dropped him when I felt his warm tongue begin tracing the tendons in my neck. Of course, those sensations were nothing compared to the sensation of his sharp canines trailing along my jaw line and pale neck. For a moment, I was so caught up in what the blonde was doing, I forgot where exactly we were going. I only remembered when my sensitive ears heard the sound of the door opening.

"Gaa…ra?" My life as I knew it was certainly over; I realized it when I heard the surprise in my brother's voice. Almost as soon as I heard the door close, I could hear a muffled chuckle, followed by a loud _thwap_. Apparently Temari had accompanied him. I closed my eyes, praying they would let me, one day, live this down. I was so worried about what I would tell them that I didn't hear Naruto's soft giggles until they had become outright snorts.

"…I think you surprised Kanky…" Naruto commented between his chuckles and gasps for breath. I looked down at the blonde in my arms and could see his amusement. Apparently he had no idea what he and I would have to deal with now that my two siblings saw us. "Don't worry, Temari dragged him back out into the hallway…she didn't see anything…" A small sigh of relief escaped my lips at Naruto's comment - mainly from the fact Kankuro was no longer in the room.

A perverted smirk crossed my lips when I glanced over towards the door to our apartment. Naruto was right - neither of my siblings were in the room and the door was closed. Of course, I could still hear Kankuro's snickers coming from far down the hallway, but I didn't really care. He woke me up in the middle of a wet dream…apparently I was _loud_…there were few things that I could be embarrassed over anymore when it concerned my siblings hearing me. I looked back down at the blonde in my arms and, from the look on Naruto's face, he caught my smirk and understood what I was thinking.

"So, they'll be gone for a while?" Naruto asked before he returned to his previous actions of attacking my neck. I couldn't form a spoken answer when he started to tenderly suck on my Adam's apple, but from the muffled grunt that escaped my lips, he got his answer.

Shifting my arms around the blonde so that he was pressed against my chest, I dropped my head down and caught those soft lips in a gentle kiss. I continued kissing the blonde in my arms as I started backing up, attempting to walk towards my room. Surprisingly, I only hit into one chair and two walls in my journey. I was half-expecting to overturn the entire couch and never make it to my room from the way my mind turned to mush when Naruto ran his fingers through my hair, deepening our kiss.

Before I realized it, I had somehow gotten into my room and was gently laying Naruto down on the large bed. Why I always got the largest bed in the apartment whenever my siblings and I went somewhere was beyond me. It wasn't like I used it all that often. Of course, I was quite glad my siblings insisted I get the biggest bed this time. Naruto stretched out across the mattress, somehow taking up the entire bed with his small body. I watched him for a moment, the realization of how lucky I was finally hitting me. Here I stood, looking at the boy of my dreams on my bed, just begging to be ravished.

For a moment, I froze at that thought. It was one thing to dream about doing something like this to Naruto, but another thing entirely to actually go ahead and have sex with him. For once, I felt afraid. What if I wasn't good at this kind of thing? What if I hurt him? What if he didn't want to be with me for the rest of our lives? I started to step backwards as the thought of losing Naruto entered my mind. I don't think I could ever live with such rejection.

Before I got the chance to move away from the bed, Naruto sat up and grabbed my shirt, pulling me down on top of him. I didn't even get the chance to ask him what he was doing before he crushed his lips against mine, wrapping his arms around me so that I couldn't get away. He only released his hold on me when he needed to breathe. At that moment, I could see that he understood what had been going through my mind. "Baka…" Naruto said softly, softly running his fingertips along my jaw. "I've loved you…for years…nothing can change that…."

I let out a sigh of relief when I heard his comment. My previous fears left me as quickly as they had come and were replaced with all the feelings I had for the blonde. I pulled Naruto into a tight embrace, knowing I was unable to declare what I wanted to tell him for so long. I didn't know any words that could capture what I wanted to say. Naruto apparently understood my gesture from the smile I could see on his beautiful face.

I gingerly kissed those upturned lips, noticing how Naruto chuckled as soon as I started kissing every inch of his face. "Kawaii…" Naruto said softly, his blue eyes focusing on my red face. I couldn't help but pout slightly at his comment. No one except Temari had ever called me 'cute,' and the last time she had done that was when I was about…_three_. I decided that no one could call me that except for my blonde when I saw his smile. Of course, I wasn't going to let him get away with making me blush. I crushed my lips against his, forcing his mouth open with my tongue.

Naruto lay back down on the bed, pulling me down with him. I let my hands drift down Naruto's smaller frame, noting how he reacted to each touch. He made quite an interesting sound when I brushed my fingers along the noticeable hardness that was pressing into my abdomen. I slowly brought my hands back up to Naruto's waist and slipped my fingers underneath his shirt. A small part of me was glad that the blonde wasn't wearing his usual orange jumpsuit…I don't think I could have figured out zippers and buttons at the moment. Anyways, this outfit looked much better on him. The tiny pervert in me commented on how much better he'd look with nothing on and I couldn't help but agree.

I started pulling Naruto's shirt off of him, breaking off our kiss in order to trail my tongue against every inch of skin as it was exposed. The blonde gasped when I finally reached his chest, my mouth wrapping around one erect nipple while my eager fingers played with the other. As if Naruto's soft moans weren't enough to get my pants to feel a bit too tight, he started to untie the sash around my waist and quickly yanked my shirt off.

The perverted side of me couldn't help but watch as Naruto slowly pulled my pants down past my erection. Whether on purpose or on accident, Naruto's warm fingers brushed against my member and elicited a gasp out of me. The blonde smirked at my reaction as he continued to pull my pants down. I hastily kicked the thin fabric off when it got past my knees.

I couldn't help but kiss the blonde as I returned the favor, making sure I made the blonde moan as I _accidentally_ trailed my fingers along his erection, playing with his already wet tip as my other hand ripped his pants off the rest of the way. For a moment, I pulled away from the blonde to look at his entire body. Despite the fact the room was almost pitch black, I could still see enough of his body to lose my breath. He was beautiful in every sense of the term.

Once I was able to breathe again, I kissed the blonde with a passion I didn't even know I possessed. Naruto eagerly returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around my torso while trailing his fingers along my back. If I hadn't already been close to coming, the next words out of the blonde made sure I was mere seconds away from it. "Make love to me, Gaara…"

I happily acquiesced to his breathless command. I reluctantly let go of his weeping member and brought my hand up to my mouth. I licked each finger, savoring the taste of the whitish fluid covering my fingertips. My blonde tasted even better than I imagined. Naruto whimpered softly, his blue eyes watching me slowly wet my fingers. From the need in his eyes, I knew I had unconsciously been teasing him.

I shifted my body so that I was sitting between Naruto's tan legs before I pulled my fingers out of my mouth. With one hand, I lifted Naruto off of the bed and onto my lap as I positioned my wet fingers at his entrance. For a moment, I looked into those impossibly blue eyes, searching for any sign of hesitancy. I smiled slightly when I found nothing of the sort in my blonde's face.

Naruto caught my expression and a broad smile came to his beautiful lips. I tightened my hand around Naruto's waist as I slowly pushed one digit into him, my eyes searching for any sign of pain in the blonde's face. The only reaction I could see on Naruto's face was surprise, which was replaced by pleasure when I started to slip my finger in and out of the blonde. Without warning him, I slipped another finger into Naruto. This time, he winced slightly at my actions, but the pain on his face was short-lived. Within seconds of gently stretching him, I heard Naruto gasp loudly. I, for once, thanked Temari for being a Yaoi-fanatic when I realized what I had done to get such a reaction out of my blonde. I continued stretching him, making sure I hit that particular spot each time.

When I was sure I wasn't going to hurt him again, I pushed a third finger into Naruto. I thanked Temari again when I saw only pleasure on his beautiful face. "Onegai…" Naruto panted softly, pushing his body so that my fingers penetrated him deeper than before. I bit back a groan as Naruto started moving in my lap, unconsciously grinding against my already hard member. If he had any idea how sexy he was being, Naruto surely wasn't showing any sign of it. I gently kissed his parted lips, swallowing his moan as I pressed my fingers against that sensitive nub one last time.

I gingerly laid Naruto down on the mattress, trying to remember everything I had read about sex. The little information I knew slipped my mind when I looked down at the blonde underneath me. I could see his skin had taken on a pinkish shade even in the darkness of my room. His entire body was glistening with sweat, his chest quickly moved up and down as he panted for breath, and his swollen member was just begging to be touched.

I slowly moved so that I was positioned in front of him. For a moment, I debated on whether or not to go slow, but my mind was made up when Naruto started shifting his hips so that he was brushing against my erection. "Don't stop," Naruto mumbled, opening his eyes so that I could see the need in those blue orbs. In one swift motion, I thrust into the blonde, finding only a little resistance to my size. Naruto threw his head back and moaned as I pulled his smaller body closer to me so that I was completely inside him. _Kami-sama…_I couldn't believe how amazing it felt to be inside him; he was so tight around me that I was sure I was hurting him, but he didn't make any painful cries, which I saw as a godsend.

"Gaa…Gaara…" Naruto whimpered my name as I stopped moving, letting his tight entrance get used to my member. I wrapped one hand around Naruto's member as I used the other to balance myself over the blonde. As slowly as I could, I pulled back and gradually thrust back into Naruto, sliding my hand along his erection at the same pace. "F-faster…" For a moment, I was sure I was going to come just from his demand. Not even in my dreams was Naruto this amazing…

I started speeding up, my eyes trained on his face so I could see any hint of pain, but there was nothing except desire. My rhythm became faster with each thrust and gasp from my blonde. I was so focused on pleasing Naruto that I didn't realize I had, at some point, started groaning. I realized how loud I was being when I saw the perverted smirk on Naruto's face. For a moment, I felt my face heat up, but I couldn't stop my vocalizations when I saw the change in Naruto's features. "Gaara…I'm…go-gonna…"

I bit back a cry as I changed the pace. With each thrust into Naruto, I felt his body tighten around me, his whimpers and moans sending a new sensation down to my lower body. I knew the feeling from my dreams, but it was nowhere near as powerful as this. I unconsciously tightened my grip on Naruto's weeping member as I drove into him a few more times, now unable to keep my rhythm.

With a soft cry, Naruto came all over my hand and abdomen. Seeing the look on his face was too much for me. Within seconds, I rammed into him one last time, screaming as I came explosively. For several seconds, all I could do was cry out, letting the waves of pleasure overcome me. It was definitely far better than my dreams, which always ended as soon as I came.

"…you're…loud…" Naruto panted as I slowly came back to my senses. I looked up at him and saw the smirk on his face. He lazily brought his hands up to my face, cupping my cheeks as he ran his fingers along my cheekbones. "…all of Konoha…must have…heard you…"

"Urusai…" I retorted wearily, my voice cracking slightly as I pressed my face into his warm hands. I couldn't help but smirk, though, when I heard Naruto chuckle. "Nani?" I asked curiously as I looked back up at him, noticing an evil glint to his eyes.

"What are we going to tell…your brother and sister?" Naruto asked curiously as he shifted his arms and wrapped them around my waist, pulling me down on top of him. I was too tired to fight him at the moment, so I let him cuddle with me. Not even my blonde would get me to admit I liked the way he embraced me, gently rubbing my back, as we laid there in comfortable silence.

"They've already figured it out…" I replied, trying not to hint at the fact they knew about my infatuation with the blonde underneath me long before I was aware of it. Of course, Naruto was smarter than he sometimes seemed. With one glance at his raised eyebrow, I sighed and continued, "They…had to wake me up…a few times…when I was…dreaming…"

"That's kind of weird…" Naruto said, a thoughtful look coming to his face. Almost immediately after, his face turned a bright crimson and he snorted. "If Iruka, Ero-sennin, Baa-chan, or Sakura woke me up…during one of mine…I don't know what I'd do…"

I couldn't think of a retort to that, since I probably would have to kill the four ninja if they had the opportunity to see my blonde - my _lover_ - in such a state. No one but me was allowed to see him this way or else I knew I would have quite a few admirers to kill.

"Baka…" I stated softly, smirking when Naruto chuckled. He tightened his arms around me and sighed happily. I could see his eyes slowly becoming heavy, so I didn't say anything else as he gradually drifted off to sleep. As soon as I was sure he was asleep, I shifted so that I could pull the sheets down enough to throw over us. Temari and Kankuro would just have to deal with the mess I made on the covers tomorrow morning, I decided as I looked at Naruto. He looked angelic when sleeping. I couldn't stop myself from tracing his delicate features as I watched him sleep.

I didn't realize my own eyes were becoming heavy until it was too late and I unconsciously rested my head on my blonde's chest and fell asleep. For the first time in a very long time, I slept through the whole night without waking up once.

* * *

Yeah... last part was all Jessie-chan. Isn't she awesome? 

Sorry it took so long to post this chapter! you guys still love us... right? cough

Anyway... I know this chapter focused mostly on Gaanaru... hehe. but we'll try to get back to the main pairing.

Review please!


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